Father
by idig4skullz
Summary: Fourth installment following Cheater! After being separated from Ayumi for six years, Yoshiki finally returns to her, only to discover that he's not only returning to the love of his life, but to his child too! However, all of his plans to become one happy family are put on hold when it becomes apparent that his child . . . actually hates his guts.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Six years.

It had been six years since he had last seen Ayumi and now he was desperate to find her and rekindle their relationship. After he had been forced into the country of America against his will, any attempts to contact her had been in vain. Her number had been deleted from his phone, but when his guards found out he knew her number from memory, they stripped him of his phone and all other technology. He was supervised in school all the time to make sure he didn't try to get a hold of a phone or a computer. Countless amounts of times he had tried to escape and run away. Many times he had made it on the plane and had been heading back to Japan, but the flight was always turned back around and he was forced back into the custody of his body guards.

As soon as he turned twenty-one, he thought that with his new gained rights, he'd be free to go. But that wasn't the case. They still held him there, practically as a hostage, forbidding him to evade their watchful eye.

After graduating from high school, he went to college for a degree in business, just because. He really had nothing else he wanted to pursue, and thought it wouldn't hurt to just get a degree in business anyways despite already running one. On his downtime, he spent hours at the library, looking for ways to sue his kidnappers and perhaps land them in jail on an abundance of misdemeanors. Eventually, he had taken them to court, sued them on countless of minor charges, and put them in jail where he was finally freed.

Somewhere along the way, Akira finally left. She had tried for three years though, desperately trying to make her way into his heart, but to no avail. He ignored her completely, pushing her away, until finally he woke up and she wasn't there. He didn't care, of course. The one thing that bugged him about her departure though, was why she could leave and he couldn't.

His guards had respectfully told him that after talking with Isao, he deemed it appropriate that she leave him. It was even rumored that she went back to Japan to _be _with Isao, which once again, Yoshiki didn't care about at all.

Regardless of everything that had happened, he was now back in Japan. After returning to his home, he was met with his ecstatic mother who had confirmed the rumors that Isao had truly eloped with Akira. However, she couldn't have been happier to be alone. Yoshiki spent a week with her, catching up on lost time and just being thankful that he had been reunited with his mother.

After that was where the real struggle began, and that struggle was locating Ayumi. He had gone to her house to find it completely abandoned, meaning her parents had moved, leaving Ayumi nowhere to be found. At first, he had tried to find Hinoe. He remembered years ago that he heard Ayumi mention that Hinoe wanted to go into the supernatural field (which he honestly found ridiculous). So, he spent his time going around to witches, mediums, and paranormal investigators asking them if they had seen her.

He was eventually led to an occult group that started their own business with Hinoe as their ringleader. When he asked her where Ayumi was, she practically told him to fuck off and that Ayumi didn't want to see him anyways. One of Hinoe's friends happened to see how pained he was over not being able to find Ayumi, and had revealed to him that though she didn't know exactly where Ayumi was, she _did _know that Ayumi had pursued a career in the field of arts.

That opened the possibility of hundreds of art schools scattered around Japan, but that didn't deter him; he'd go through every single one if he had too. Some of the schools were kind, and would tell him whether or not she attended. Some of the more elite told him that they couldn't reveal information like that to him, and shut the door in his face. This resulted to pestering students outside of the school and asking them whether or not they knew of or have seen Ayumi. None of them knew where she was, until he came upon one girl who said she knew Ayumi, and knew which school she was attending.

After finding Ayumi's school, he questioned the principal on where she was and the principal revealed that Ayumi didn't live in one of the dorms, but was instead sharing a duplex with a friend. That left him to scour the duplexes in the area which took him weeks to sift through.

All in all, it had taken him over four months to even find Ayumi, which wasn't too bad, considering when he finally found her he realized that he wasn't even in Tokyo anymore, but in Nagano. It had all been worth it though.

Currently, he was at her door, incessantly ringing the doorbell, just desperate to see her. After all, it had been six whole years. He was expecting any sort of change she may have gone through, but unfortunately, he was not expecting a _child _to open the door.

"Hello-

The child had started to greet him but then stopped when he realized that he didn't know who Yoshiki was at all.

"Reiji!" the child yelled, turning around. "Reiji! Reiji!"

"I'm coming Subaru!" a flamboyant voice that made Yoshiki inwardly cringe, yelled.

A man came into view and picked the little boy up and propped him on his hip. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Yoshiki couldn't help but ask. "Does an Ayumi Shinozaki live here?"

Reiji narrowed his eyes. "Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on who's asking. Now tell me who you are."

"Yoshiki."

"Okay, _Yoshiki_. How do you know Ayumi? Because she's like, my best friend, and I don't want some pervert coming after her!"

"I am not a pervert," Yoshiki said. "I dated her six years ago."

"Six years ago . . ." Reiji repeated, and then gasped. "Wait!"

He looked at the child in his arms and then back and Yoshiki, and then back and the child and back once more at Yoshiki before gasping again.

"Ohhhh my God! You're _that _Yoshiki?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh my God, it really is you!" Reiji screamed and then looked over at Subaru. "Su, this is your father!"

A/N: WHAT?!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: You guys seem like you really enjoy the plot and everything! Thanks so much, it means a lot to me! Oh, and currently I'm working on another Corpse Party story that's told in a second person point of view. Not sure when I'm going to start uploading it, but I have a feeling you guys will _really _enjoy it! :D

Father

Reiji released Subaru and began ushering Yoshiki into the house. "Come in! Come in! Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening!"

Meanwhile, Yoshiki had been stunned into silence by Reiji's previous statement. He looked around for Subaru, but the child had already disappeared to another room, leaving him alone with Ayumi's so-called friend.

Before Yoshiki could open his mouth and question Reiji further, he received a sharp slap across the face, once again, stunning him into silence. All his life, Yoshiki had dealt with doing things in an orderly manner and fashion. Instead of exchanging fists, he raised himself to believe that exchanging words was always better. And now that this random guy had just hit him across the face, it completely threw him off, so much to the point of not even being able to talk.

"How dare you!" Reiji yelled, placing his hands on his hips. "How dare you leave her here for six years! Look, I don't know what happened, but for some reason you left, and you didn't even call her once! And now you just expect to waltz back into her life like nothing happened? Give me a break! You better have a good reason for leaving her _and _your son here all on their own!"

"Son . . ."

"Yes, SON! Ugh, all guys think that they can't have a kid, but um, yes you can! I mean, did you look at him?! He's the only reason I let you in here-you two look just alike!"

"Where did-

"He ran back to his room. I guess he's scared and overwhelmed. I would be too if my father just walked in after being gone for all five years of my life!"

What was even happening anymore? In less than a few minutes he had found out that he had a _son. _As of right now, his first instinct was to just walk away. But of course, could never do that. Especially if he had a child that needed to be taken care of, because there was no doubt in his mind that Ayumi was probably struggling. She didn't come from a rich family like he did, and working, combined with college, and the stress of taking care of a child had to be a lot for her to handle.

"Have you been helping raise the child?" Yoshiki asked.

"Of course!"

" . . . Excellent."

"Hey, if you didn't want me raising him, you should have been there for him!"

"I didn't know she was pregnant," Yoshiki said. "If I would have known, I would have fought much harder to get back here."

Reiji rolled his eyes. "Mmhmm. Well, Ayumi told me everything. About the marriage, the abortion, the breakup, the cheating, and about how you were shipped off to America. I just don't understand how you couldn't call _once_ in six years though."

"All forms of communication for me were shut off. I tried as hard as I could, believe me."

"Well, I don't."

"That fact doesn't matter to me. All that matters is if _she_ believes me."

Reiji and Yoshiki continued a silent staring contest, analyzing each other carefully. Reiji hoped he was making it clear with his facial expression that he _didn't _like Yoshiki. In fact, it wasn't even because he had gotten Ayumi pregnant and left, but his whole demeanor and attitude just didn't sit right with him. The guy screamed 'importance' and 'elegance' and Reiji had to wonder how in the world Ayumi ever got tied up in a guy like him. Who was he exactly?

"So," Reiji said, moving to sit on the couch. "Are you new or old money?"

"Old."

"Really," Reiji stated. "How in the world did Ayumi get bogged down with _you_? Now, if she met some guy from new money, I could understand, but old money doesn't tend to look for love outside of their requirements."

"There are no requirements when it comes to true love."

"Give me a break!"

" . . ."

"Well, answer me this: Why should she take you back?"

"Because I can't live without her."

"You've lived without her for six years haven't you? Why can't you go another six? Or another twenty?"

"In those six years not a day passed by where I was not thinking about her. More than half of my day was spent obsessing over her, and thinking about what she was doing and who she was talking to. Now that I'm so close to being with her again, I cannot go another six years without her. I'll die," Yoshiki said with only seriousness in his tone.

"You'll die huh?" Reiji asked. "That's not true love. That's just crazy talk. Are you sure you're just not a psychopath who's obsessed with her and just wants to keep her all for yourself?"

"That's exactly what I am, minus being a psychopath."

". . . Leave it to Ayumi to get involved with a crazy man. You're so warped; you have _no idea _what true love is."

"Oh? And I'm supposed to believe a queer like you does?"

"Watch it!" Reiji yelled, standing up and approaching Yoshiki. "You're in _my _house! Don't talk shit about me!"

"Tell me, how much true love have you experienced from all of those one night stands?"

"That's enough, you asshole!"

"My asshole's fine, thank you. But how's yours?"

Just as Reiji geared up the deliver a fatal punch to Yoshiki's face, the front door opened and shut.

"Reiji!" Ayumi called out, her voice being followed by the sound of rustling bags. "I'm back! Subaru!"

At the sound of his mother's voice, Subaru bolted out of his room, past Yoshiki and Reiji, and into the kitchen where Ayumi was standing, completely unknowing to what was happening just one room over.

"Mommy! There's a man in here!" Subaru said.

"A man?" Ayumi laughed. "Yes, I'm sure I left Reiji here with you."

"No! A man who looks like me!"

". . . What?"

In seconds Ayumi had left the kitchen and headed into the living room where she truly was met with one of the most shocking sights she had ever been exposed to. She didn't think that after so many years, Yoshiki would just turn up, _and _in her house too? Half of her mind told her to cry and run into his arms and just be satisfied that he was back. But the other half of her mind was telling her to question him. Where was he for six years? Why had he suddenly come back? How did he find her? And the burning question; why didn't he contact her?!

"Ayumi! I-

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" she screamed, listening to the logical part of her mind. "YOU LEAVE ME FOR SIX YEARS AND THEN JUST COME BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN?! NO CALLS! NO TEXTS! NOTHING FROM YOU TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU STILL CARE ABOUT ME OR THAT YOU'RE ALIVE! WHY ARE YOU BACK?! AND WHERE IS AKIRA?!"

"Ayumi, I can explain everything," Yoshiki said, calmly, hoping to influence her with his peaceful attitude.

It didn't work.

"I BET YOU CAN! I BET YOU HAVE SEVERAL REASONS ABOUT WHY YOU DIDN'T EVEN CONTACT ME _ONCE_! AND THEN YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SHOW UP AT MY HOUSE AND ACT LIKE EVERYTHING IS OKAY?! NO!"

Yoshiki sighed. Okay, so she hated him. He sort of expected that.

"You should just go!" Reiji said.

Reiji also hated him. But then again, Reiji hated him as soon as he walked through the door.

Just when Yoshiki thought it couldn't get any worse, Subaru stuck his tongue out at him, turned around, and stomped away.

So, even his son hated him.

Great. Just great.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: By the way, for the sake of this story, let's say that Yoshiki's hair is naturally blonde.

Father

After much persuasion, Yoshiki had gotten Ayumi and Reiji to sit down and allow him to explain everything. Throughout his entire explanation, Reiji's scowl never left his face, and Ayumi experienced an onslaught of emotions ranging from anger, to sorrow, to pity, etc. Unfortunately, Subaru was gone, not wanting to share the room's air with 'the tall man that looked like him'.

"Well," Ayumi sighed, after he had finished his piece. "I think Subaru hates you."

"Why wouldn't he?" Reiji snorted. "Father's are way too overrated."

"Then just what are you to him?" Yoshiki asked.

"I'm not _really_ 'dad' if that's what you're thinking," Reiji said. "I'm Reiji. I'm the guy that's living with his mom, attending the same school, and helping her pay rent. I guess you could say that I'm also his part-time caregiver. I take him to school and pick him up sometimes. When Ayumi works late, I fix him dinner. I've also given him a bath once or twice. Sometimes in the-

"You're doing my job," Yoshiki muttered, dropping his head slightly. "I am supposed to be doing that."

"Well, if you weren't busy being married to another woman living in America, you could have been doing it for the past five years."

"Reiji, don't," Ayumi muttered. "It's not his fault."

"Well whatever. So old money, what are you going to do now?"

"The obvious. I will marry Ayumi and take her and my son to go live a life of our own."

Ayumi simply refuted him with a shake of her head. "No you won't. I really want to pursue a career in art, Yoshiki. I'm not going to let you come into my life after your six year absence and dictate what I do. It doesn't work that way."

"But-

"I love you, Yoshiki. But this is the first time I've seen you in six years . . . I need time."

He was _so _confused. Why could she just drop everything and be with him? Sure, he guessed it was slightly selfish of him to want to just steal her away and make her start a new life, but it would be a better life, wouldn't it? He had all of the money in the world to buy her whatever she wanted. She'd never have to work and she could spend her time doing, eating, and taking part in whatever she desired. But instead she wanted to live in a duplex with her friend and struggle through bills and juggle work, Subaru, and college?

No, he didn't understand. Then again, he hadn't grown up like she did, and they were from opposite worlds. It was probably just normal for middle class people to want to work and support themselves.

Of course, he worked too, but it never extended beyond signing a few papers, firing and hiring people, and going to staff meetings. Though he managed a business, it was actually a pretty low key job. Besides, he had people, who had people, who had people, who had _other _people that did all of the strenuous work.

"Okay," he agreed. "But will you at least take some time away from your job and allow me to support you? I feel indebted to you and I especially wish to compensate for the five years I wasn't allowed to spoil my son."

"Woo hoo! No more work!" Reiji cheered. "Finally! Now I'll have so much more time to focus on school!"

"When did I ever say I'd support you too?"

"Hey, you owe Reiji," Ayumi chided. "He's been helping raise Subaru this whole time."

". . . Very well."

"YES!" Reiji cheered. "And as my first night without work, I'm going out! Bye Ayumi! Bye old money!"

As Reiji ran out of the room, Ayumi laughed and turned back to Yoshiki.

"What's with this 'old money' thing?"

Yoshiki sighed. "It's a long story."

"Alright, I won't ask. But in the meantime, would you like to see Su?"

At her offer, he immediately nodded. Whilst being so overwhelmed with meeting back up with Ayumi and meeting her friend Reiji, he had completely overlooked the fact that he had a son. Of course, he _knew _he had a son as soon as Reiji had told him. But now that Ayumi had offered to let him see him, the fact was really hitting home.

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe the fact that he had missed _five_years of his first child's _life. _Such a realization wounded him. No matter what, he would never get those lost years back because he wasn't there. He wasn't there to hear his first words, watch him learn to crawl, stand up, walk, run, etc. And there was so much he didn't know about him. What was his favorite food? What was his favorite T.V. show? Did he like to read? Did he have a favorite color?

It was a hard pill to swallow. He had primarily caused the mother of what would have been his _very_ first child to starve herself, resulting in its death, and he had missed the first five of years of his first _live_ child's life. Did he just have bad luck when it came to kids, or was he just a bad human being who was selfish and ignorant? Worse, what if all of this was a sign that he'd be a bad father?

"Come on Subaru," Ayumi was saying.

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to!"

"But he's your father."

"I don't have a father!"

Ouch. That one stung really bad. Especially the absolute truth behind Subaru's words. He really wasn't a father to him. At least, not yet. More than ever, Yoshiki wanted to prove that he could be a father, and a damn good one too. He wanted to prove that he could be ten times better than his _own _father.

Ayumi finally made her way into the room, dragging a screaming Subaru with her. His small arms were flailing about and he had his eyes shut, not even wanting to _look _at Yoshiki.

"Let him go," Yoshiki muttered. "You'll traumatize him."

"No," Ayumi stated. "He needs to at least say _something _to you."

"NO!" Subaru yelled. "NO! NO! NO! NO!"

"Subaru, stop it right now!"

"NO!"

Yoshiki felt like curling up into a ball and dying. His son _hated _him. He hated him so much that he didn't even want to _look _at him. The thought itself was heart-wrenching, and it made him feel so defeated that he wanted to get up and walk away from the situation with his head down. It was ironic too. In a sense, Yoshiki realized that this was exactly how he felt with his own father. He hated him for the better part of his life, and now it was coming back to haunt him, because his _own_ son hated him.

He wondered if his father felt like this all the time. Defeated, hated, unloved, ignored and abandoned. Feeling the way he felt now almost made him regret how he treated his father. _Almost. _Yoshiki had a good reason for hating his father and besides, his father never did anything to make himself even slightly likeable.

But that was where he would be different. Regardless of how much his son hated him right now, Yoshiki already loved him unconditionally, and would do anything to make him change his opinion about him. Unlike his father, he'd _try _and not just expect things to happen. That was his problem now. He had always been that way, but that was because he had gotten everything handed to him. He never had to try to achieve anything with the exception of Ayumi. Everything came easy to him, but he soon realized that this probably wouldn't.

No, this would take effort, but that didn't matter. He'd do anything to win his son's affections.

"Subaru," Ayumi begged. "Please don't be difficult."

Giving in, Subaru finally opened his eyes and looked at Yoshiki. It was only for a split second, because as soon as Ayumi let him go, he ran away again. However, it was in that split second Yoshiki was able to take in all of the information about him. Subaru's resemblance to him was phenomenal. He had the same colored hair, skin tone, eye shape, and even bore the same beauty mark that Yoshiki had on his neck. The only thing Subaru had taken from Ayumi was her eye color, and even his own were a shade lighter and more of an aqua color than Ayumi's azure one's.

All in all, Yoshiki couldn't believe he had aided in producing a child so beautiful.

"Sorry," Ayumi said. "Just give him some time. He'll come around. It's just been-

"Will you move in with me?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

The question completely caught her off guard. At first, it seemed as though her brain refused to even process the question, as she stood there motionless. Her mouth opened to give him a reply, but then closed again when she realized that she had nothing to say.

He wanted her to move in with him? Was he serious? Where did that come from?

She had been sharing a duplex with Reiji ever since she had graduated from high school. For six years, it had just been her and him, and for five years, her, him, and Subaru. Ayumi wasn't objecting to the sudden change in living, she was just really stunned. Stunned like she had been when Yoshiki left her so drastically. For awhile, she had been depressed over his departure, but she refused to let it make her harm her child this time. She had made a terrible mistake before, and vowed that this time it would be different. And it was. Subaru was perfectly healthy and fine, and smart as well. She had done _everything _perfectly throughout her pregnancy, the only thing missing was Yoshiki.

Granted, as she looked back on it, Reiji had been there. Throughout her mood swings, ultrasounds, doctors appointments, and was even in the delivery room holding her hand. She was blessed to have such a caring friend . . .

"I," Ayumi muttered. "I can't leave Reiji . . ."

"Why not?" Yoshiki asked, completely oblivious to her past.

"Because he was always there for me. What kind of friend would I be if I just up and left him now after all we've been through?"

". . ."

"Besides, what about Subaru?"

"What? Of course I'd want him too, Ayumi."

Ayumi frowned and looked away. "But he hates you . . . and I hate that he does. It makes me feel bad."

"I believe that if he spends some time with me, his opinions will change."

"What about my schooling?"

"I can hire a driver to drive you there every day to make sure you're on time."

"What about Subaru? He has to go to kindergarten."

"I will take care of it."

She wanted to think of another excuse. Truly, it wasn't that she _didn't _want to move in with him, it was just the fact that everything was happening so fast. He had just come back to her after disappearing for six years, and it seemed as though he just wanted to pick back up where they left off.

But for Ayumi, it was different. She had changed. Of course, she didn't want to say she moved on completely from him. After all, she still harbored deep feelings of love for him. But in a sense she felt like she didn't need him anymore. At least, she didn't need him like it seemed he needed her. It was a tough analogy to make, and her mind was struggling to make it make sense to her.

She had so much love for him. But was she still _in _love with him? It had been _six _years, and in that time, she had grown independent. No, she hadn't even so much as dated anybody in those six years, because she didn't need to. Ayumi had been doing just fine on her own. She paid bills, she cooked for her child, she bought him clothes, took him to school, helped him with his homework (not that he needed it), etc. In a sense, Yoshiki's help was very generous and thoughtful, but just not needed. So, what would she do?

"I'll have to call Reiji," she said, suddenly. "He needs to know about this as well."

She turned to leave, but Yoshiki caught her arm and stopped her.

"Please don't base your final decision solely off of his answer," Yoshiki said.

_"Think about me."_

"I really want you to think things through about this."

_"Put yourself in my shoes."_

"I missed you so much during these six years, please believe that. And I . . ."

_"I'm going to be really selfish."_

"I can tell that you're wary about this because you've matured during this time and probably realized that you don't really need me but-

_"I still crave your attention because at heart, I'm a spoiled child."_

"I really want us to be a family!"

Ayumi just stared at him, shocked by his confession. She had never seen him so adamant about anything in his life. He looked as if he was battling some sort of inner demon within himself, and he was struggling not to say the wrong thing to her and inadvertently push her away. It was sweet to know that he was being so cautious with his words, and if anything, it made her lean towards moving in with him, regardless of what Reiji said.

"Okay," she said gently, pushing him away. "Let me go talk to Reiji first."

She quickly left before she melted into a pile of goo, completely subject to his every will. In the kitchen, she scrambled around for her cell phone she had thrown on the counter and dialed Reiji's number. It only had to ring twice before he picked up.

"Hey girl."

"Hey Reiji . . ."

"Oh my God! What happened?! I'm coming home!"

"No!" Ayumi yelled. "No, no. I just needed to talk to you about something."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I don't know . . ."

"Spill it! You're scaring me."

Ayumi smiled, grateful for how worried he was for her. He truly was a good friend.

"Yoshiki randomly asked me to move in with him and I don't know how to answer. I wanted to ask you first. What do you think I should do?"

"Ohhh girl. Well, what did he say exactly? Did he give you a reason why?"

"He said that he knows that I don't need him-

"He's right. You don't!"

"And that he just really wants him, Subaru and I to be a family . . ."

Reiji was silent for a moment before sighing. "Ayumi, you know I don't like him. But I don't want you to tell him no, just because you're being considerate of me. Forget about me, and make the decision based off of what you think."

"You know I could never do that Reiji!" Ayumi said. "I want your opinion on this too!"

"But-

"And I don't want to leave you all alone."

"There's your problem girl. I won't be alone. If you leave, I'll be fine on my own! Plus, I might can even get someone else to move in with me. As long as he's willing to compensate for your half of the bills, I'm good."

"Trust me, if I even grace him with my presence in his home, he _will _compensate for you, there's no doubt about that. Plus, if he said he would, I know for a fact he will. He doesn't go back on his word."

"He sounds like a good guy," Reiji said. "A little needy, but considering he's had everything he's ever wanted handed to him, I can see why he's like that."

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, what are you thinking?"

Ayumi hummed in thought before coming up with another reason. "What about Subaru? Would I be a bad mother if I just forced him into a situation he didn't want to go into?"

"Yes, you would be, but I think it's for his own good! Aren't you going to be with old money anyway?"

Ayumi laughed solemnly. "Even if I didn't want to be, I'd end up with him."

"Girl," Reiji groaned. "You sound so distressed."

"Ugh, I am."

"Well, I say that if you _know_ you're going to end up with him, just move in with him. Think about all the girls out there with kids that have deadbeat fathers. They would kill to be in your position."

"You're right. If I didn't do this, I'd be taking advantage of his kindness. He truly does care about us . . ."

"Exactly. Plus, Subaru needs to work through his demons and get to know his father. I'm pretty sure if he's around him all the time, he'll get used to him."

"So you're saying to do it?"

"Hell yeah, do it! And hell, if Subaru needs time away, he's always welcome to come and stay with me for a couple of days."

"Okay," Ayumi said, happily. "Thanks for your help, Reiji."

"You're welcome. Now I expect all of your shit gone by the time I get back."

"Hey!"

"I'm just kidding girl! You know I'll miss you, but we'll see each other at the university. And you can tell me about all the sucking up he does to get you and Subaru to like him."

Ayumi groaned. "Whatever! Well, I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're doing."

"Alright then. Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up the phone, feeling immensely better about the decision she was about to make. Walking back into the room, before she could even open her mouth, Yoshiki was in front of her holding her shoulders.

"Well?" he asked. "What's your answer?"

"No."

". . ."

". . ."

"I'm going to kill myself then."

"Oh my God, I'm kidding!" Ayumi laughed. "Yes! Yes, I'll move in with you!"

He pulled her into a bone crushing hug and buried his head into her neck. The relief that washed over him due to her answer was enough to make him pass out. He was so happy he almost couldn't stand it, however, there was a small child standing in the hallway utterly pissed about what was happening . . .


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

"Whoa . . ." Ayumi muttered, looking around the apartment. It was a _very _good looking apartment, clearly intended for those with money. It had elements of chic décor and at the same time was upholding a very modern theme. Upon walking in, she was met with the living room area. A plasma screen sat on the wall and it was surrounded by a wrap around leather couch, with a coffee table in front of it, sitting atop a fluffy white rug. After walking to a room on the left across the wooden floors, she entered the kitchen that had granite countertops that every housewife wanted, and a long bar with five chairs sitting at it.

Just as she was about to keep exploring, Subaru walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Where's my room?"

"Hmm," Ayumi said, looking around.

At the moment, she couldn't ask Yoshiki because he was talking to movers, so she pulled Subaru along past the kitchen and towards a door. Opening it, she was met with a bedroom with a blue, brown and grey theme. The bed sheets were an array of the three colors and atop them sat at least ten throw pillows that ranged from fluffy to silky. There were two dressers, a closet, large windows with long, white sheers and curtains for privacy, and a plasma screen that hung from the wall directly across the bed.

Ayumi's eyes widened in shock. "Wow. Is this okay?"

"I guess," Subaru said, sounding completely dissatisfied with the room.

She laughed as he entered the room and she patted his head before leaving and heading back into the living room. Then she decided to enter the door on the other side and as soon as she did, she almost wished she hadn't.

It opened up into a _huge _bedroom with a color scheme of black, white, grey and red. Again, the bed was covered in tons of throw pillows different shades of red sitting on top of an overly fluffy duvet consisting of an intricate black and white pattern. On the left side of the room again were two large windows with white sheers and curtains that flowed down and touched the floor.

She walked over to the bed, crossing onto a large fluffy white rug and hoisted herself up onto it, discovering that she almost meshed with the mattress and sheets. It offered the perfect combination of comfort, and she didn't know how she was going to sit on it and watch the T.V. that was located directly across from her without falling asleep instantly.

Sliding off the bed, she headed over to another door which she assumed was a bathroom and gasped as soon as she saw the inside. It was a beautiful array of different colored mosaic stones that stretched from the flooring and up walls. Two sinks sat on her left along with a porcelain toilet, and the right wall shared a large shower with a glass door and a Jacuzzi that could probably fit five people easily.

"And he was living here alone?" she asked herself in shock, and then laughed. "Wonder how long it will take him to ask me to get in this Jacuzzi with him."

Interrupting her were the sounds of movers bringing in boxes of her clothes and she quickly left to get them and begin unpacking. She was met by Yoshiki just closing the door to the apartment and then turning around and attractively grinning at her.

"Does this suit you?"

Before she could stop it, a blush came over her face. "It's immaculate . . . Surely you weren't living here alone?"

"Of course I was. I've only been living here a few months. I had plans to get you to move in with me anyways. However, I'm glad I picked an apartment with two bedrooms considering the fact that I have a son."

"Speaking of Subaru," Ayumi said. "He's already in his room. I think he likes it."

"Good."

"Yeah well . . . Should we unpack?"

Ayumi had no idea why she was so awkward around him. She guessed it was due to the fact that she hadn't seen him in six years, but as of right now, she didn't know where they stood relationship wise. Were they friends who just happened to have a child together? Or were they boyfriend and girlfriend? Certainly they weren't husband and wife, but if he was referring to them as a family, where did that put them? Should she just consider them engaged, since it was his plan to marry her anyways? She didn't have a ring, so she guessed she couldn't really say that though . . .

Everything was just so confusing and awkward to her, and again, it was probably due to the fact that everything was happening _so _fast.

"Sure," Yoshiki said. "You take Subaru's things to his room since I'm sure he does not want to see me yet. I will take your things to our room."

_Our _room . . . that sounded weird.

"O-okay," Ayumi said, and picked up one of Subaru's boxes.

She carried it into his room and found him sprawled out across the bed watching T.V. in the midst of falling asleep.

"Hey, Su," she said, setting down a box. "Tired?"

"Mmhmm," he mumbled, wiping his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's a little late," Ayumi admitted, looking at a clock on the nightstand. "It's almost nine o'clock and you have school tomorrow."

"Do I have to go?"

"Yes Subaru. Just because we've moved and you're tired doesn't mean you're not going to school," Ayumi laughed. "Speaking of moving, do you want to thank daddy for letting us-

"No."

"Oh come on Subaru! You can't ignore him forever!"

"Are you going to marry him?"

". . . Maybe."

"Nooo," he begged, sitting up and holding his arms out to her. "No, don't!"

Ayumi walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He buried his face in her chest and to her surprise, he started crying. It made her feel bad that this was making him cry, considering the fact that he had been so happy when it was just her and Reiji. It was as if she had just completely stripped him of his happy life and was now torturing him.

"Please don't cry, Subaru," Ayumi begged, feeling her heart break into a million pieces. "Why don't you like him?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"He wasn't there . . ."

Ayumi was astounded that at just five years old, Subaru could make such adult connections to things. Honestly, she'd just figured that since he was only five, he'd overlook everything and just accept Yoshiki into his life. But she had been wrong. Subaru was smart, too smart to just accept everything so easily. No, he had consciously made the decision not to like Yoshiki because he didn't like the fact that he was just walking into his life after five years of absence.

But then again, Subaru didn't know the whole story. She would explain it to him, but she feared that it would be just a bit too complex for him to handle just yet.

"Subaru," she said, petting his blonde hair. "He had a good reason for not being there. I'll tell you when you're older, but for right now, can you just try to say thank you? Will you do it for Mommy?"

Normally he would have broken out in a fit of rage, but because his mother asked him to do it, he would. Subaru still didn't like Yoshiki, but for his mother, he guessed he could at least say thank you to him.

"Okay," he grumbled, sliding away from her.

He walked out of the room with her close behind him. Entering the living room, he saw Yoshiki moving to pick up another box and he walked up to him and tapped on his waist, halting his movements.

"Thank you for letting Mommy and I move in with you."

To Subaru, the words flowed easily from his mouth, and it had really been no problem saying thank you. But to Yoshiki, he thought this was a milestone. Not only had Subaru spoken to him, but he had looked in directly in his eyes. Could it be that Subaru was starting to like him?

"You're very welcome," Yoshiki said, reaching out to pat his head.

"Yeah, don't touch me," Subaru stated, before turning around and walking away.

Dropping his hand in sadness, Yoshiki just sighed before picking up the other box. Though it was stab to the heart, he wouldn't let this get to him. He needed to be patient. If he wanted a bond with Subaru, he didn't need to rush things. Even though he was used to everything be handed to him, he would try to accept the fact that this would take time. And he damn sure wouldn't give up either.

"Sorry," Ayumi sighed. "It's almost kind of embarrassing that he doesn't like you. It seems like I've raised an anti-social, rude son."

"Don't worry about," Yoshiki said. "He's perfect . . . and just like his mom."

Ayumi narrowed her eyes. "I'm not anti-social and I'm certainly not RUDE!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Shut up!"

"No."

"AHHHHH! Why did I even move in with you?!"

"Because you love me."

"Well, you certainly make it really hard sometimes!"

She finished talking to him and angrily picked up and box and stomped away from him. He could only chuckle to himself as she walked away, head held high. Even after six years, she was still the same old Ayumi; the same Ayumi he had fallen in love with.

A/N: "Yeah, don't touch me." XD


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: Just five chapters and already 51 reviews?! Thank you so much! You guys always show me so much love, like I'm crying right now! :'D

Father

The next morning, Ayumi was up and rushing around to get ready. Yoshiki wanted to help her, but he was unsure of as to how. She probably did this every morning and was used to it, but to Yoshiki, it just looked painful.

With only a towel on, she rushed out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth and raced across the hall to Subaru's room. Within minutes she had come back out and returned to the bathroom where she finished brushing her teeth. Grabbing her uniform, she quickly dropped her towel and threw everything on and she had done it so fast Yoshiki didn't even see her naked, which was disappointing. It was torture having her live with him and not being able to touch her. But out of respect, he knew he needed to wait. He was pretty sure that after six years of being gone, she didn't want to reward him by sleeping with him, so he'd be patient.

But the urge to ask her to get into the Jacuzzi with him was _so _strong and he wanted to ask _so _bad that it was killing him. The desire to throw her down and take her for hours and hours and_ hours_ was clouding his mind, and he couldn't do it just once. No, after six years, he wanted to spend weeks and weeks making love to her. When their relationship finally progressed back up to that point, she better be ready, because he wouldn't give her a break.

"Ayumi," Yoshiki said. "I can get someone to drive you to school now so you don't feel so rushed. I can also take Subaru to school if you want."

"Really?" Ayumi asked, walking into the kitchen to make breakfast. "I mean, Subaru's not going to like that at all."

Yoshiki followed her slowly, leisurely in his pace. After all, being the boss of his own establishment meant that he could show up whenever he wanted. He never had to rush.

"I know, but I'm sure that if you explain your predicament to him, he'll understand. Besides, I would like to take him."

"Um," Ayumi muttered, concentrating on pouring the right amount of ingredients for pancakes. "Sounds good."

"Go get Subaru ready. I'll make breakfast, and I'll call someone to come get you."

"Oh really?" Ayumi asked, already running away from the stove. "That'd be great. Thanks!"

She ran into Subaru's room to see him dressed and sitting on the bed watching T.V. Relief flooded over her and she leaned up against the wall and sighed.

"Thank goodness you got dressed on your own," she said, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground. "Yoshiki's going to take you to school."

Frowning at her, Subaru crossed his arms in defiance. "No way! Mom, you always take me."

"I was up so late last night, and I only got a few hours of sleep," Ayumi said, in her defense. "As a result, I got up late. Come on Subaru, please let Yoshiki take you to school. He really wants to."

Subaru huffed in annoyance but accepted it anyways and grumbled out a barely audible, "Fine," before getting up and following Ayumi into the kitchen. He sat down at the bar and hesitantly accepted the food. If Ayumi wasn't there watching him, he knew he wouldn't eat it and would throw it away, but since she was, he forced himself to eat it the food that _he _made. It wasn't as if he wasn't hungry, he just didn't want to give Yoshiki the wrong idea. He _did not _like him, and he didn't want to give Yoshiki any idea that he might like him even just a little bit.

"Okay," Ayumi said. "I have to go! Bye Subaru."

She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and then bolted from the apartment. Subaru was slightly satisfied she didn't kiss Yoshiki, but he knew that in the back of his mind that that would probably change soon. Somehow, that snake would worm his way into her heart, but not his! Father or not, Subaru still didn't like him, and he would hate him forever!

"I'm done," Subaru said, pushing his plate away, and then getting up and heading towards the door. He sat down and quickly put his shoes on and then waited for Yoshiki to get done in the kitchen.

"So," Yoshiki muttered. "I'm assuming you go to Ryusaki Elementary?"

"Yes."

". . . Okay."

Yoshiki opened the door and Subaru left, not even waiting for him to close and lock the door. Eventually though, Yoshiki caught up to him and sighed at the unbelievably awkward air between them. What should he do? Should he try to have a conversation with him? He didn't know much about him, but he guessed that it was as good a time as any to learn something.

However, Subaru did _not _look like he was in the mood to talk at all. He was walking adamantly and evenly, his steps never wavering. Not even that, but Yoshiki was allowing him to lead the way. Clearly Subaru knew where his school was, even after moving to a completely new location. This fact greatly intimidated Yoshiki. Just who in the world was he dealing with?

He was pleased that Subaru was smart, but he seemed a little too smart. Yoshiki guessed that he was the same way as a child, but with Subaru's intellect, he was sure that it'd be much harder to trick him into liking him. There would be no deceiving here, no buying him gifts to make this easier, or anything of the sorts. He would have to get Subaru to like him the old fashioned way, which was to just become his friend first. But Yoshiki really didn't make friends and if he did, it was on a whim and he hadn't really tried in the first place.

This would certainly be a challenge.

"Um," Yoshiki started. "Do you like school?"

A dumb question, but it was better than nothing.

"It's fine."

"What are you learning?"

"My class is learning basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division," Subaru explained. "I have to leave for advanced teachings, and I'm doing things with decimals, fractions, ratios, and integers. We're also learning basic science, history, and English. English is actually another one of my advanced courses."

_"What the hell?" _Yoshiki thought.

"Oh . . . Do you have friends?"

"Not really."

"Do you like your teacher?"

"She's ok."

"What about-

"I don't want to talk anymore," Subaru said, bluntly.

Yoshiki just stared at little boy beside him and mentally sighed. Again, Yoshiki figured that he was like that as a child too, however Subaru was a bit more open. If it would have been himself, he probably wouldn't have even offered answers to the questions. But, at least Subaru was talking. Albeit, through the whole conversation Subaru was staring straight ahead, not bothering to look at him.

Subaru didn't even know it, but it was _killing _him that he wouldn't pay him any attention. Yoshiki didn't crave Subaru's attention quite like he did Ayumi's, but he wanted his son to look up to him, respect him, and at least _like _him. He wanted from his son what he didn't give his father, and this made him wonder how long it would take to get it. Personally, he knew he'd wait for however long it took since this was his child, but he just so badly wanted Subaru to like him _now. _

Breaking him out of his thoughts, his pager went off in his pocket and he knew it was his business requesting him. Then his phone rang and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket and went to answering it.

Meanwhile, Subaru was slightly interested in who Yoshiki was talking to. He didn't know anything about him, and had no idea what he could be talking about. But he wasn't stupid, and knew that Yoshiki had to have some high-end job; he just didn't know what it was. He could ask him, but then again, he didn't care that much anyways.

Seeing his school appear in the distance, he swallowed his pride and looked up at his father, trying to get his attention. When he wasn't responded to, he tapped Yoshiki's hand.

"Hold on," Yoshiki said, and looked down at Subaru in urgency, worried that he had missed something important. "Yes? Do you need something? Are you hurt?"

Subaru just shook his head. "No? I'm going to school now."

That was when Yoshiki looked up and realized that they were actually there and he was just too absorbed in his phone call to notice it.

Oh no, had they regressed?!

Had he hurt Subaru's feelings by not paying attention to him?

What if he was appearing as inattentive and Subaru didn't feel safe with him?

"I'm sorry," Yoshiki apologized. "Forgive me, I was really absorbed in my conversation."

"Whatever."

Subaru walked away, leaving Yoshiki feeling like a failure. He was pretty sure that they were even farther from where they previously were in their relationship, which was pretty bad already. Now Yoshiki was almost positive that Subaru thought of him as absentminded fool who couldn't properly care for him. \

He could have also been over-thinking the situation, but then again, what if he wasn't?

What if Subaru hated him now?

What if Subaru would never come to like him?

And why was is so hard to appeal to this five year old child?!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Ayumi had made it back home with an hour to spare before picking Subaru up. Normally she'd have to run from school, get Subaru, and then run back home with him, and depending on what day it was, leave to go start her shift at work. But being able to just go straight home to a gorgeous house and do nothing was proving to be wonderful. Such relaxation even forced her to pick up her cell phone and _quit _her job. Plus, she liked that job since it kept her on her feet and busy, but she had so much homework that that didn't even matter anymore. Not only that, but she had picked up a course in piano, wanting to learn how to play an instrument in addition to art. So _now _she needed a piano, which she was sure Yoshiki would get her.

She almost wanted to laugh at herself, already resorting to her resources to get whatever she wanted. Just a few weeks ago she would have been busting her ass to get money to buy a piano. But currently, she was sprawled out on the couch, jobless, watching a movie on an 80 inch T.V. She was pretty sure that maybe after a month of doing this, she would get restless and want to get another job, but for right now, she was stressed and her body and mind were _tired. _Overworked and burnt out, she had exhausted all of her energy over the last six years, and now she intended to get it all back . . .

Until she got restless and decided to get up and do homework. Moving over to her backpack, she pulled out her laptop and prepared to begin her essay political and critical thinking, and after that was complete she had a painting to begin.

As she typed her paper, she glanced at the clock, waiting for the hour to be up so she could go pick up Subaru. Now that she thought about it, she wondered how he and Yoshiki got along that morning. Maybe if it went good, she and Yoshiki could go pick him up together.

Grabbing her phone, she dialed his number, and was met with a quick response.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Where are you?"

"I'm in a meeting," he sighed.

"Oh okay, never mind," she said.

"Hmm? Why?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go with me to pick up Subaru, but if you're busy-

"I'll leave right away."

"Wait! But-

He hung up and she rolled her eyes in frustration. She hadn't meant to take him away from his meeting. But knowing him, once he said he was going to do something, he was going to do it and there was no way of changing his mind.

* * *

><p>Yoshiki and Ayumi walked down the street together towards Subaru's school. They were making light conversation with Ayumi's intermittent fits of small bouts of rage, but that was normal. Slowly but surely, they were feeling more confident with each other.<p>

"So he was okay?" Ayumi asked.

"Yes," Yoshiki answered. "However, I have some things I need to work on . . ."

Sensing his slight depression over the matter, Ayumi left it alone. Of course, she could just find out from Subaru.

"I bet he'll be surprised to see us both picking him up," Ayumi said. "You know, we should plan an outing together this weekend."

"What do you have in mind?" Yoshiki asked.

"Mountains! I want to go on a trip to the mountains."

"Sure."

"Yay! I want to see a bear!"

Yoshiki chuckled. "Mmhmm."

"What's funny about that?"

". . ."

"TELL ME!"

"Bears are dangerous," Yoshiki said, simply. "They will attack you."

Ayumi groaned. "I'm not talking about being so close I can introduce myself to it! I want to see one from a distance."

"I don't think we'll see one anyways. But if you really want to see one, we can just go to a zoo."

"Oh no," Ayumi said, shaking her head. "Reiji, Subaru and I went to the zoo once and . . . ugh, let's just say, Subaru is scarred for life."

Yoshiki frowned. Whatever had happened, he had missed it, and for what? School? He had been too busy studying in America to see what had happened at the zoo with his son. Of course, in his defense he didn't know he had a son, but he didn't want an excuse. The point was, he had missed that special time, and now he would never get it back. The knowledge that he had missed out on five years of his son's life was going to haunt him for eternity. What else had happened? What else didn't he know? He desired to know what happened to Subaru _every _day of his life. Not only would he never get back those five years back, but those were the most critical years in which cognitive development happened as a result of being played with, learning shapes, and being read to at night before he went to bed.

_Reiji _did all of that. It disgusted Yoshiki to know this too, but unfortunately, there was nothing else he could do about it . . .

Before he knew it they were walking into the school and Ayumi was calling Subaru's name. Subaru came running up and straight into Ayumi's arms calling "Mommy, Mommy!"

"How was school?" Ayumi asked.

"It was good. I finished all of my homework in class."

"Well that's great! You're so smart!"

"It was easy."

"I'm sure it was," Ayumi agreed, patting him on the head. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Yup."

_"Just ignore me, that's cool," _Yoshiki thought and then cursed himself for acting like a baby.

"What are we doing for dinner tonight?" Ayumi asked, directing the question more towards Yoshiki.

"We can go out," Yoshiki suggested.

"No," Subaru said.

"We can order take out."

"No."

"We can cook dinner at home . . ."

"No."

Yoshiki bit his lip, a new feeling of irritation rising in his chest. Usually things didn't get to him, but hearing the word 'no' to _everything _he suggested certainly was a nuisance. Yoshiki wasn't stupid- Subaru was just _trying _to get on his nerves. He probably wanted him to yell at him so that he could cry to Ayumi, but Yoshiki had no intentions of falling for his trap. He could play dirty too.

"What do you want, Subaru?" Yoshiki asked.

"Don't use my name," Subaru stated. "I want pizza."

Ever since the pizza and fish analogy his father had used so many years ago with him, Yoshiki grew to hate both of those things, and the thought of pizza made him sick.

"That's so unhealthy," Ayumi sighed. "Subaru, can't you pick something slightly less greasy?"

"No, it's okay," Yoshiki said. "Pizza sounds fine."

Subaru narrowed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air at Yoshiki's statement. "Hmmph!"

"Maybe afterwards we can all watch a movie, _together_," Yoshiki said, making sure he stressed the last word.

"I . . . have homework," Subaru muttered.

"You said you finished it all," Yoshiki rebutted. "Ayumi, dear, don't you think it's a good idea?"

_"I KNOW he did NOT just call my Mom 'dear'," _Subaru thought, viciously. _"I HATE HIM!"_

"I think it's a great idea," Ayumi smiled. "Quality family time!"

* * *

><p>And so, everyone was sitting on the couch, dressed for bed with a box of pizza on the coffee table. Yoshiki was searching for a movie and meanwhile Subaru was curled up in Ayumi's side, trying to remain as far as possible away from Yoshiki.<p>

"So," Ayumi said, unconsciously patting Subaru's head to which he much approved of. "What are we watching?"

"It doesn't matter to me," Yoshiki said. "Subaru, what do you want to watch?"

"I told you not to use my name," Subaru said, annoyance lacing his tone. "I don't want to watch anything comical."

"Subaru!" Ayumi scolded. "If your dad can't refer to you by your name, what is he supposed to call you?"

"I don't know," Subaru shrugged. "I guess he just can't talk to me then."

Yoshiki sighed and tried to hand Subaru the remote so that he could pick something to watch, but of course he was ignored, so he ended up handing the remote to Ayumi.

"Okay, let's see," Ayumi mumbled, scanning through the selection.

"Why do I have to be in the middle?" Subaru asked, grumpily. "Mom, can't you be in the middle?"

"Well-

"It's fine, Ayumi," Yoshiki said, easily able to hide the disappointment in his voice. "If he doesn't feel comfortable sitting by me, I understand."

As soon as Yoshiki said the words, Subaru climbed over Ayumi's lap and settled on the other side of her, very pleased with the new seating arrangements.

"Okay," Ayumi said, finally settling on a movie. "Let's just watch this and be done with it."

"What is it?" Yoshiki asked, as she got up and headed into the kitchen.

"A typical haunted house movie," she answered.

Yoshiki raised a brow. "You allow him to watch things like this?"

"Yes. I watched scary movies at that age. He's completely fine. If he gets a nightmare he's welcome to come sleep with us."

Subaru rolled his eyes. As if _that _was ever going to happen.

Finally, Ayumi came back and planted herself back on the couch, but in the wrong spot. Once again, much to his distaste, he was put in the middle. Looking over at Ayumi, he hoped she saw how distressed he was, but she simply offered him a smile and grabbed a slice of pizza from the pizza box. Sighing in anguish, Subaru also grabbed a piece and began to eat, although he wasn't happy about it.

Yoshiki knew that Ayumi had switched spots on purpose just to give him a chance to sit by Subaru, but he felt bad because he knew Subaru didn't want to sit beside him. In fact, he could literally feel the deadly aura Subaru was giving off because of the situation, and he sighed and just gave up and focused his attention on the movie.

Why? Why did his own child have to hate him so much? Didn't Subaru know that he was the root of the worst pain Yoshiki had ever gone through in his life? It was so hard to live with the fact that his child hated him. Probably even to the point of wishing death upon him. Once again though, Yoshiki found himself wondering if this was how his father felt all of the time.

Although, he was inclined to lean more towards 'no' since at heart, Isao was just a cruel and unforgiving man. He acted like he cared that Yoshiki hated him, but truthfully, he probably didn't get a rat's ass. All he cared about was image, more so than his own family, which disgusted Yoshiki.

As the movie went on and neared the end, though, Yoshiki felt something hit his lap and looked down to discover that Subaru had fallen asleep on him. For a moment, he just stared him, warmth flooding his heart. He knew that Subaru was just doing it unconsciously and probably wouldn't even remember, but that didn't matter to him.

"Ayumi," he called, hoping she would see it, but to his surprise, she was asleep as well.

It was a touching moment, seeing the woman that he loved and his son sleeping so peacefully. He almost didn't want to move, but he knew he had to get up in the morning, and that he couldn't stay up all night.

Picking up Subaru, he carried him to his room and gently placed him under his covers and then went back for Ayumi, picking her up and taking her to their room. Though he hadn't made any conscious progress with Subaru, the unconscious gesture was enough to fuel his desire to perfect his relationship with his son, and with that last thought on his mind, he fell asleep . . .


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Ayumi awoke the next morning with the sun streaming through the window and lightly warming her face. She prepared to pull herself out of bed and get going when she noticed an arm hooked around her waist. Turning around, she was met with a broad chest which she immediately curled into. She knew she had to get up, shower, and go to school, but she had woken up a bit early.

Then she realized that the last thing she remembered was watching a movie with Subaru and Yoshiki. She must have clocked out pretty early considering that her body had woken itself up without her alarm clock, and it made her wonder how many hours of sleep she actually got. Her busy schedule usually left her running on about six hours, but she must have gotten way more than that, which was an unexpected, but welcomed treat.

Deciding she would just lay there until it went off, she continued to snuggle into Yoshiki, absorbing the warmth he was giving off. Pressing her forehead against his chest, she could feel his heart beating against it slowly and evenly. She could smell the last traces of cologne that lingered on his skin and it sent shivers up and down her entire body. The smell instantly brought back emotions she had felt for him six years ago along with an intense craving for him. Instantly, her body began to turn on, completely against her will.

Tilting her head back, she leaned up towards him and planted a small kiss on his neck. Still unsatisfied, she leaned further until she her lips met his own. Her intentions to pull away immediately before things heated up were thwarted when he kissed her back. At first, the kiss had started out completely innocent, but grew more intense the longer they stayed embraced.

The longer it went on, the more her desires increased, and she soon found herself climbing on top of him and wrapping her arms around his neck, their lips still locked together. She wholeheartedly accepted the intrusion of his tongue in her mouth and met his with her own.

His hands roamed slowly down her back coming to rest on her butt. Taking control, he parted from her and began littering her neck with kisses, starting out gentle, but quickly escalating to a more aggressive level. He could feel her throat vibrating as sensual moans escaped her mouth and just as he was about to flip them over so that he was on top, her alarm clock went off, sending her flying backwards off of him.

"Oh!" she gasped, before a blush coated her face at what had just happened. "Sorry. I need to get ready."

Rejected . . . ?

He _never _got rejected.

Well technically he couldn't say never, because he just did.

Yoshiki watched Ayumi quickly disappear into the bathroom and groaned in despair. How could she just tease him like that and then walk away? Didn't she realize what she did to him? Having nothing better to do, he got up out of bed and moved into the living room where he sat down on the couch and began to watch T.V. Shortly after he started to watch, Subaru walked into the room, trying to be discreet and go unnoticed.

"Good morning," Yoshiki said. "Is there anything specific you want for breakfast?"

Subaru simply fixed himself a bowl of cereal and to Yoshiki's surprise, joined him on the couch. He still kept his distance, but either way, Yoshiki was stunned.

"Something you want to watch?" Yoshiki asked, but again was met with no reply.

"Um . . . did you like the movie last night?"

Again, nothing.

"Alright, it's like that? I don't need to talk to you anyways, little punk."

"WHAT did you call me?!" Subaru yelled, turning and facing Yoshiki directly.

"Got your attention, didn't I?"

Subaru narrowed his eyes in defiance, grabbed his bowl, and began to walk away. Setting it in the sink, he ignored Yoshiki when he told him he was going to be walking him to school again . . .

* * *

><p>And so began another awkward journey to school. Subaru was silent as always, his ear being talked off by Yoshiki. He wanted to just tell him to be quiet but that would mean talking to him, which was Yoshiki's goal anyway. So he would just walk along and pretend not to hear him, though admittedly, he was listening intensely since there was nothing else to hold his attention. Yoshiki was going on and on about where he worked, mentioning business transactions and using words Subaru had never even heard of. He was completely lost, and this made him want to punch Yoshiki.<p>

Sure he was smart, but not _that _smart.

Finally they made it to the school and Subaru left without a word, hearing Yoshiki continuously shout "bye" to him. Walking through the doors, he headed down the hallway towards his usual class and arrived as one of the last people to get there. He could have arrived earlier, and it actually wasn't Yoshiki's fault, but his own. He had been dragging his feet that morning anyways and didn't care to rush. Besides, being late wasn't a big deal to him at all-it's not like he'd fall behind or anything; to him school was a joke.

Sitting down at his desk, he pulled out his notebook and awaited further instruction when he felt someone poke him in the back with their pencil. At first, he chose to ignore it, but when the poking became incessant, he finally turned around.

"What?!" he hissed quietly, trying not to alert the teacher.

"Did you hear?" the boy behind him asked.

"Hear what?" Subaru retorted. "And would you hurry and tell me? Class has started."

"You didn't hear about Hisato? Everyone's been talking about it!"

"No, I didn't hear."

The boy watched the teacher to make sure they weren't being listened to before leaning closer to Subaru. "Sensei said not to talk about it but . . . Hisato's dad . . ."

"What about him?"

"He got stabbed last night and he _died_!"

The confession made him go quiet for a moment, but not wanting to seem weak, Subaru quickly recovered. "S-so?"

"So? Watch the news when you get home," the boy said.

"Why?"

"Well . . . I didn't really understand when I watched it, but I will try to tell you. These guys stole some jewels, and one of them took them all I think. Now the other guys are looking for him and they keep killing guys who look like him!"

Subaru turned around and shook his head. "I don't want to hear anymore."

"Why?" the boy asked. "It's not like you have to worry. You don't even have a dad."

"That's right," Subaru confirmed. "I don't."

"Do you still live with Reiji?"

Subaru had no idea how this random boy knew so much about it, but then he deduced that he probably told him something and just didn't realize it.

Turning around again, Subaru asked. "Do I know you?"

"Yeah! We have advanced English together!"

Ah, so _that _was where he knew him from.

"Oh. And no, I don't live with him anymore."

"How come?"

"Me and my Mom moved. It's no big deal."

"Well, it's a good thing Reiji has black hair," the boy breathed. "They're targeting guys with blonde hair."

" . . . Really . . ."

"Oh yeah. With grey eyes . . . Or maybe it was black eyes? I don't know. It's scary though. This is the fifth person that died though!"

Okay, now Subaru was silently freaking out. He wasn't sure if it was from the fact that there was somebody killing people on the loose, or that they were targeting people that conveniently looked like Yoshiki. First of all, Subaru didn't think Yoshiki was involved in the jewel heist at all-there was just no way. He may have hated Yoshiki, but he didn't think he was a criminal. Second of all, what if he became a target?

If he died, it's not like he'd care or anything. He had only known Yoshiki for a couple of days and him dying wouldn't impact him that much. But as for his mother, he wasn't so sure. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd be devastated if Yoshiki died. Just like she cried all those nights that he was away, if he died, she'd spend her nights crying again. At least now she was happy, which made Subaru happy. So obviously, Yoshiki had to stick around for Ayumi's sake.

That's right. For his mother and his mother only. She would miss him too much if he died.

But as for himself? Subaru couldn't care less . . . about Yoshiki dying . . .

_"Whatever," _Subaru thought. _"If he dies, so what? It's not like I'll care . . . he sucks anyways . . whatever . . . OKAY! Stop thinking about it! Focus! . . . Oh no, what if he really does die?! What will I do?! I-I-I MEAN, what will Mom do?"_

Tiring out from his mental battle, Subaru simply sighed and let his head fall to his desk. Without hoping for it, he decided he would just spend the remainder of the day anticipating that Yoshiki would pick him up like he did yesterday.

Not hoping; anticipating.

There was a difference.

A/N: Uh-oh...


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: So, I've got a little poll on my profile for you to vote on, and trust me, if you're reading this story and you really like it, YOU'll WANT TO VOTE!

Father

"Subaru!"

Subaru looked up to see the kind and warm face of Reiji smiling down at him. Immediately, his heart filled with warmth at the sight of his old friend. He hadn't been separated enough from Reiji long enough to truly miss him, but it was always nice seeing the kind man who had taken care of him all of his life. And beside him stood Ayumi who was equally happy, wearing a pretty burgundy sundress with brown ankle boots.

"Ready to go?" Reiji asked. "I'm going to come over to your place and hang out!"

"I know you've probably missed Reiji," Ayumi said. "So, I decided we should spend time with him! Won't that be fun?"

"Yeah," Subaru said, a small smile encapsulating his face.

There was just one problem with the whole scenario . . .

Where was Yoshiki? Why didn't he come and get him? Or at least, why didn't he tag along? Sure, Yoshiki picking him up every day from school hadn't been made official, but . . .

"Where is _he_?" Subaru asked, trying to sound as nonchalant and casual as possible.

"Oh, he didn't answer the phone," Ayumi sighed. "He's probably stuck in a meeting."

Uh oh. Now Subaru was feeling slightly wary. Of course, it was too early to start over reacting and freaking out, but why wouldn't he answer his cell phone? Especially if it was Ayumi calling. Was he truly stuck in a busy meeting? It was only four o'clock, so yes, that was a possibility. Average adults didn't get off work until five, and then the time it took to travel home had to be added into the mix.

But Subaru couldn't stop his mind from wondering elsewhere. Every other possibility besides Yoshiki being alive and safe was popping up in his mind and it was freaking him out.

As he observed Ayumi and Reiji however, he realized that they were certainly calm, so he shouldn't be freaking out. It was fine, it was fine. He'd probably come home later tonight. It was no big deal . . .

* * *

><p>"And I barely passed!" Reiji whined. "It wasn't my fault that stupid bitch spilled her orange juice all over my canvas!"<p>

"There's a child in the room," Ayumi scolded. "But at least you passed, Reiji. Remember that failing streak you were on two years ago?"

"Oh my God, I'll never forget! I barely passed that semester! Ugh, school is too much!"

"Are you hungry Subaru?" Ayumi asked, but received no response.

"Subaru?" she tried again. "Are you hungry?"

"Hmm?" he asked, turning to look at her. "Oh. A little bit."

"I can call Yoshiki to get him to bring home something," she suggested and at Subaru's nod, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

Subaru watched her eagerly, but to his utter dismay, she sighed and threw the phone gently onto the coffee table.

"No answer," she said. "Oh well. I can cook something."

"Want help?" Reiji asked.

"No, I've got it."

Ayumi left, leaving Reiji and Subaru alone on the couch.

"So Subaru," Reiji said. "Be honest with me. How is Yoshiki?"

Subaru shrugged, trying to think of an appropriate answer. "Fine."

"No problems? He's cool?"

"No. I still hate him."

Reiji laughed. "Of course you do! Say, where does he work?"

Thinking back to the last conversation he had with him, Subaru cursed himself for not paying closer attention. "I think he runs a business."

"Well, that explains all of this. This place is huge!"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay, Subaru? You seem a bit sad."

"No, I'm fine. How is it being all alone?"

"I've already got someone moving in," Reiji said, with a wink.

"Wow!" Ayumi shouted from the kitchen. "Thanks! It's good to know that I can be replaced so easily!"

"Calm down! I was kidding girl! It surely won't be the same without you and Su!"

"It better not be! And can you come here for a sec? How do you think I should cook this chicken?"

Reiji gave Subaru a friendly pat on the head before getting up and moving into the kitchen. As soon as Reiji was out of sight, Subaru quickly grabbed Ayumi's phone, scrolled down through her contacts list, and called Yoshiki, but again received no answer. He knew he was being stupid, but now he _really _couldn't get it off his mind. Almost one hundred percent of him expected Yoshiki to just walk through the door completely unharmed. So why couldn't he stop thinking about it and why couldn't he just forget?

It made him sick to his stomach. Why did he even care anyways? Didn't he hate Yoshiki? Didn't that man mean absolutely _nothing _to him? He had even told that boy in his class that he didn't even _have _a father. Yoshiki played absolutely no role in his life with the exception of being a pest. The only title he had claimed was 'Guy Living With Ayumi and Paying for Everything'. That was it. To Subaru, he was nothing more than a simple source of income.

So maybe that's why he was worried? Could it be that he was just concerned about losing money? After all, Yoshiki was the one who paid for food, paid for the house, paid for his mother to get to school, took_ him_ to school-

_"Okay, so he does a lot," _Subaru thought to himself. _"Big deal! Without him, we'll just go back to the way things were!"_

And there was nothing wrong with the way things used to be. Subaru had never complained about his life living with Reiji and Ayumi, and he thought it was great. However, he didn't want to go back to that life.

Because if he did . . . Yoshiki wouldn't be there.

"Subaru!" Ayumi called out. "Come eat!"

Sighing quietly to himself, Subaru got up and joined them for dinner . . .

* * *

><p>He came home <em>late <em>that night. In fact, he didn't even walk out of the office until eleven. Now it was almost twelve at night and he had finally arrived home. To his surprise, he came home to see Ayumi just turning off the T.V. in the living room and placing the remote neatly back onto the coffee table.

"Welcome back," she said, quietly. "You were gone a long time-Subaru's already asleep."

"I know," Yoshiki sighed. "That is the _last _time I will ever let my colleagues distract me with conversation other than work."

"What do you mean?"

"We were supposed to be discussing stocks, and I had the intention of leaving by at least six so I could come home and have dinner, however the conversation diverted towards the jewel heist and I couldn't get away."

Ayumi laughed. "Wow, they sound like fun people."

"I beg to differ."

"You know, I heard they caught the guy," Ayumi said. "Someone in school told me today."

Yoshiki nodded. "Oh I know. We spent two hours discussing what he looked like and who he probably was . . . then Chiko started to cry and began age regressing into his childhood where he told us about how his dog died and he fell into a four year depression."

". . . What."

"Mmhmm."

"Well, at least you're back," Ayumi said happily, before skipping over to him and planting a light kiss on his lips.

Taking that as an invitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and asked, "Will you grace me by taking a bath with me tonight?"

"I knew it!" Ayumi said. "As soon as I saw that Jacuzzi I wondered how long it would take you to ask me to get in it with you!"

"You know me well."

"Of course I do!"

"So can I take that as a yes?"

Ayumi froze and looked away awkwardly. Oh, that was right. He was actually being serious about this. She had never taken a bath with him before, and she felt a bit weird about doing so.

"Um . . ." she mumbled. "I'm still thinking . . ."

"Well, decide on an answer on the way there," Yoshiki said, before scooping her up into his arms and whisking her away into the bedroom.

"Let me down!" Ayumi yelled, regaining her usual demeanor. "Release me at once!"

"No."

"Yoshiki!"

"No."

"Stop-

"Do you wish for Subaru to wake up and walk in on us?"

"W-who said I was even going to do anything with you?" she stuttered, suddenly feeling extremely hot.

"You're right," Yoshiki said, gently dropping her to the ground. "It _is _quite late."

He then proceeded to walk away and pull off his shirt, exposing his muscled back to her, making Ayumi burn with desire.

"I will take a bath alone . . ."

". . . No! Wait for me!"


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: Another chapter because I'm in a good mood and it's kinda short anyways. :-P

Father

Yoshiki got up early that morning around six or so, to head in to work. He had remembered that last night he didn't get what he wanted to across to his workers, so he felt the need to just go in early and get that done so that he could come home early. Work was only demanding if he made it that way, but unfortunately, this was just one of those things that needed to be done.

Sitting up, he allowed himself to look over at Ayumi who was sleeping soundly beside him. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her, but he knew he had to leave. He also wanted to wake her up and say goodbye to her, but that would be cruel. After all, she had school and last night had been pretty rough on her. ;)

He finally flung the covers off of himself and began to get dressed and finally moved on to fixing his hair and brushing his teeth. Breakfast was calling to him, but he really didn't want to waste any more time than he had to. His business needed him and he wanted to get home as soon as possible.

So he skipped breakfast, moving through the living room and towards the door and just as he was about to leave, he felt something tug on the back of his pants.

Turning around, he was surprised to find that it was Subaru, still in pajamas, his hair tousled and sticking out in random directions from the sleep.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

For a moment, Yoshiki thought that he was still asleep and just dreaming. Was Subaru really talking to him at his own volition? Was this really happening?

"I'm going to work," Yoshiki told him. "I have to go in early today."

"You didn't come home last night."

"I did eventually. I was just tied up in work."

"You . . ." Subaru muttered, almost incoherently. "You have to take me to school!"

Yoshiki was so confused. Subaru actually _wanted _him to take him to school?

"Well . . ." Yoshiki said. "I can't. I'm sorry. I'll take you the rest of this week though. Your mother will take you today, alright?"

"No!" Subaru yelled. "No! No! You have to take me!"

"But-

And then when Yoshiki thought things couldn't get anymore weird, Subaru started crying. Tears fell from his eyes in giant droplets and he began clinging to Yoshiki's leg, begging him to take him to school. Honestly, Subaru wouldn't blame Yoshiki if he didn't want to take him to school since he had been so mean to him. After all, Subaru had made it his mission to hate his father and vice versa. Admittedly, half of him wanted Yoshiki to kick him off and just go to work, but the other half wanted Yoshiki to at least show him a little bit of affection and promise to take him to school.

However, Yoshiki did better than that by reaching down and wrapping his arms around Subaru in a fierce hug, allowing him to cry on his shoulder. Yoshiki gently rubbed his back, trying to sooth him and make him stop. Although he wasn't sure what the problem was, he felt bad that his son was crying and desperately wanted it to end.

"What has gotten into you?" Yoshiki asked. "Why are you crying?"

Subaru didn't answer him and instead continued to cry.

"Do you want me to take you to Mom? I'm sorry, but I have to go-

"NO!" Subaru yelled. "You can't go! You can't go! You can't leave me! Please don't go!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Yoshiki said, growing a bit concerned. "I won't go in early, and I will take you to school."

Subaru nodded against his shoulder and continued to hold onto him, his small hands clenched around his shirt, tears still streaming from his eyes.

It was then that Yoshiki picked him up and gently rocked him, immediately appeasing him. Subaru quieted down, leaving Yoshiki to ponder what exactly had just happened. Why did Subaru want him to take him to school so badly? So bad to the point that he'd cry over it? And now, Subaru had fallen back asleep as if nothing had even happened.

Although he had no idea what was wrong with Subaru, he couldn't help but be grateful for Subaru's attention. In just one night, Subaru had gone from not speaking to him, to crying on him and allowing him to hold him. It now seemed as though Subaru at least _tolerated _him now. And of course, if this were the case, there was no way Yoshiki could go into work early and completely throw away this precious moment.

"Subaru?" Yoshiki asked, gently shaking him to wake him up. "You can't stay here and sleep forever. You have to get ready for school."

Subaru stirred in his arms before pushing away and walking back down the hallway towards his room leaving Yoshiki alone to his own thoughts . . .

* * *

><p>With Ayumi already gone, Yoshiki and Subaru were left to walk alone. Subaru had no intentions of talking after his embarrassing feat that morning, but Yoshiki was persistent in pestering him.<p>

"Will you ever reveal to me why you wanted me to take you to school so badly?" Yoshiki asked.

". . ."

"You don't have to be ashamed to hide the fact that you're growing to like me, at least a little bit."

"Whatever," Subaru muttered.

Yoshiki smiled. "Does that mean you like me now?"

"Hardly."

Truthfully at this point, Subaru didn't know _how _he felt exactly. However, he was sure that he didn't hate Yoshiki anymore. Maybe he just slightly disliked him . . .

"It's okay," Yoshiki said, reaching down and patting his head. "You don't have to like me now, but I would like you to someday."

". . ."

"Just know that even though you may hate me now, I love you very much."

_"I wish he'd SHUT UP!" _Subaru thought to himself.

"And I always will."

_"Stop making me feel bad for the way I treated you!"_

Seeing his school appearing in the distance, Subaru breathed a quick sigh of relief before starting to hurry off. But before he went, he turned around to Yoshiki.

"Are you going to be late tonight?" he asked.

"Most likely," Yoshiki sighed. "I was supposed to go in early-but don't worry about that."

"I'm not," Subaru said, in an obvious voice, clearly not blaming himself for Yoshiki not being able to go into work when he wanted to. "But you should come home early . . ."

"But-

"And if you don't, I'll always hate you!" Subaru finished, before turning and running away.

He ran all the way into the school and didn't stop until he was seated comfortably at his desk. Dropping his head into his arms, he tried to tune out everything around him, but unfortunately, something interesting caught his attention.

"Did you hear about the thief who stole all those jewels?" someone asked.

"Oh yeah!"

"They caught the guy."

"Ooh! When?"

"Sometime yesterday evening."

_"WHAT?!" _Subaru screamed in his head. _"I DID ALL OF THAT WORRYING FOR NOTHING!? I CRIED ON HIM THIS MORNING FOR NOTHING? NOOOOOO!"_


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. It's the week before midterms and it's stressing me out . . . O.o

Father

Yoshiki came home before Subaru's school even let out, although he had a good reason to. All day he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that morning between him and Subaru. It probably wasn't anything to be concerned over, as Subaru most likely didn't even care about it, but to Yoshiki, this was like striking gold. Of course, in addition to this he _had _to leave work early, because Subaru's threat was also fresh in his mind from that morning. Despite his coworkers and colleagues begging him to stay, he simply ignored them, grabbed his jacket, and left. He would just explain to them tomorrow that his five year old child was currently dictating his every move, and they'd all understand, right?

Meanwhile, Ayumi was working at her laptop, and when she heard the door open she looked up from her document and smiled.

"You're really early," she noted happily. "How come?"

"For two reasons," Yoshiki said, after joining her on the couch. "The first reason is that I wanted to talk to you about something that happened to Subaru this morning."

"Is he okay?"

"I'm . . . sure he is."

Ayumi frowned. "What happened?"

"I was intending to leave for work early-before you had even awoken. Just as I was about to leave, he came out of his room, stopped me, and asked me to take him to school. I told him that I couldn't because I needed to get to work early and he started to cry and wouldn't stop until I told him I would take him."

". . . What?" Ayumi asked. "But this morning everything seemed fine."

"I didn't want to say anything with him around."

"Well, maybe he's starting to like you!"

"Do you not think that behavior is a bit odd?"

"Hmm . . ." Ayumi thought. "Yeah, I guess it kind of is."

"He also threatened me right before I dropped him off by telling me that if I didn't come home early, he would hate me forever."

"Whoa. That's it, there's something wrong. I'll talk to him about it."

"Do you think I . . . did something wrong?"

"No! I know Subaru, and if you had done something wrong, he'd just completely ignore you. I don't know what's wrong with him honestly. Should we go and pick him up together?"

". . . "

"Yoshiki, don't feel bad. I'm sure he's fine."

* * *

><p>Subaru waited patiently to be picked up and in the meantime, he did homework. He was almost done; just a couple of more worksheets and then he'd be finished. Originally it was his plan to work alone since he'd get it done much faster that way, but to his displeasure he was joined by the boy from yesterday who he'd come to find out was named Tomoe.<p>

"Poor Hisato . . ."

"Why are you talking about that?" Subaru hissed, angry from being interrupted from his work. "Shut up already."

"It must be hard."

"I guess."

"I'm glad they caught the guy though. My dad is safe."

"Yeah."

"Say, Subaru . . ." Tomoe muttered. "Does it ever get lonely with just your mom?"

". . . No."

Tomoe raised a brow. "Really? You don't ever want a dad?"

"Not really . . ."

"But-

"Are you trying to make me feel bad?" Subaru asked. "If you know I don't have a dad, why do you keep talking about it?"

"Sorry," Tomoe apologized. "I'm just saying."

"Okay . . . and nobody _needs _a dad. I don't especially _need_ my dad either."

"I thought he wasn't around?"

Subaru sighed deeply, but continued to lie. "That's right. He's_ not_."

"Do you think that if he came back, you would like him?"

"No. Look, I'm done talking about this. Let's just do homework."

"Okay!" Tomoe said happily, and began continuing with homework.

_**Meanwhile just outside the classroom . . .**_

"It looks like he's done," Ayumi muttered. "I'll go and get him now."

Ayumi walked into the classroom, leaving Yoshiki alone with the teacher.

He was sure she wanted to say something along the lines of 'it's okay,' or 'don't feel bad,' but honestly, he didn't want to hear any of it, and he made that clear just by looking at her with one of his most intimidating stares. He watched her scurry away and regressed deeper into his thoughts.

So, even after that random display of what he _thought _was longing and love, Subaru would outright lie to his classmate about having a father.

If Subaru didn't like him, he'd probably tell his friend about what a horrible father he was.

But Subaru hadn't even done _that_-he had just insisted that he didn't even _exist. _If that wasn't pure hatred, then what was? Of course, even after Subaru being so cruel to him, Yoshiki couldn't help but still love him to death. He just wasn't understanding why Subaru didn't like him. Yes, he had missed five years of his life and he couldn't ever atone for that, but couldn't Subaru at least give him a chance?

Yoshiki felt like blaming Subaru, even though he knew that wasn't right since he was merely a child. But it wasn't _his _fault that Subaru didn't like him, right? Admittedly, Yoshiki had only been a few days to win his affections, but he was trying so hard. He had even skipped out on going to work earlier just to be with Subaru. He thought that he _needed _him to be with him since he was crying.

But Subaru said it himself. He said that he didn't need him and much to Yoshiki's dismay, that was probably true. He hadn't needed him the last five years, why would he need him now? Why would he want him now?

Really, what was he thinking? Just walking into his son's life and expecting him to start wanting him to be around? Was he stupid? Why would you need something you had been without your entire life? What was the point?

"_Maybe I got ahead of myself," _Yoshiki thought to himself. _"Maybe I am nothing more than just a hindrance to him? Why did I think that Subaru would suddenly forget how to live without a father and want me to be there for him? I wasn't there for the other five years, so why would he want me now? Am I just foolish?"_

He wanted nothing more than to be a part of Subaru's life but it seemed as though it wasn't going to happen. This whole time he had been trying, just to be rewarded with nothing but regression between him and Subaru. If pushing this hard wasn't working, then he'd have no choice but to back of some. Yes, this was his child, and yes, he loved him, but he wasn't going to waste his time trying to achieve something that would just never be.

At this point, Yoshiki just hoped that in the future, he and Subaru could be civil to one another. He realized that he and his own son truly were destined to become just like him and his father: simply tolerant of each other.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS! Anddd I don't own Lego's either. I'm not really sure if that needs a disclaimer or not, but yeah, LEGO'S ARE NOT MINE!

Father

Finally the weekend had arrived, however, all plans to be together for a family outing were thwarted by the-

"RAIN?!" Ayumi screamed. "WHAT?! I WAS SO READY FOR THIS!"

"I was too," Yoshiki admitted.

"THIS SUCKS! I WANTED TO SEE BEARS!"

"Well, _that _was not going to happen, but-

"Yes it was!" Ayumi insisted, poking her bottom lip out in anger. "I wanted to see those bears!"

"Aw," Yoshiki said, bending down and pecking her on the lips. "I'll be a bear for you."

"But it's not the same . . ."

"Sure it is."

Ayumi narrowed her eyes in thought before asking, "Can I feed you fish?"

Again, the fish and pizza analogy popped into his head and he sighed with distaste. "If you must."

"Really?! Yay!" Ayumi cheered before running into the kitchen.

She immediately took a piece of fish out of the freezer to let it thaw and as she was closing the fridge door, Subaru walked out of his room.

"Good morning Mom," Subaru said, sweetly. "Is it okay if I go over to a friends' house today?"

"It's raining, but I guess it's okay. Do you know where they live? Do their parents know?"

Ayumi watched as Subaru pulled out a note and handed it to her. Taking it from him, she read over the small letter from Tomoe's parents introducing themselves. Along with the friendly letter was their address at the bottom and Ayumi shrugged, figuring that they were nice people.

"Okay, you can go. I will get someone to drive you there."

Utilizing Yoshiki's connections, Ayumi had a driver up to the door of the apartment within minutes.

"You can take him," Ayumi said, ushering Subaru towards the driver. "The people seem fine, but double check with them to make sure they aren't suspicious looking. Walk him up to the door . . . look into their house to make sure it's nice . . . send me pictures too . . . and if they have a big dog make sure it's not mean. O-oh and make sure the neighborhood's nice too!"

". . . Of course," the driver said, sighing at all of the instructions. "Come along Subaru."

Abandoning the fish completely, Ayumi went back to the bedroom to bother Yoshiki, only to discover that he had fallen back asleep. Walking over to him, she lightly hit his shoulder and when she got no response, she hit him harder.

"Hey," she said, shaking his shoulders. "Get up."

"It's the weekend," Yoshiki mumbled. "Let's sleep a little longer."

"No! I'm not tired!"

"If I get up, will you pay attention to me?"

"When do I _not _pay attention to you?"

Yoshiki sat up and shrugged. "Good point."

Ayumi watched him as he sat up and sensually threw the covers off of himself, ending up in only a pair of boxers. She had seen him even more exposed than this, and yet, it was sending chills up and down her spine. Why did he have to look so immaculate and pristine all of the time? Her eyes followed him as moved towards the bathroom and the stupid thought of what he might be planning to do in there crossed her mind.

What else would he be doing in there besides taking a bath or using the bathroom? Obviously, her mind was currently occupied by what had happened the last time they were in the bathroom together . . .

_"Maybe I'll just casually follow him in there," _Ayumi thought, giggling manically to herself as she began her slow strut towards him.

Yoshiki could hear her behind him and he smirked to himself, knowing that she couldn't resist him. If only he had the same effect on Subaru, would their lives be so much better. If only Subaru liked him-just a _little-_they could be a happy family.

Or maybe he was being too greedy? Was he asking for too much? He had had the mental discussion so many times in his head about the fact that he might be pushing for Subaru's love too much, but he couldn't help it. He was persistent, just like he had been with Ayumi. When he loved someone, he _meant _it, and it was so hard to love Subaru and not have the affections returned. It was the same feeling he felt of absolute longing like he had with Ayumi. It was eating his soul and he wasn't sure how much longer-

"WHOOOOOOOOO!" Ayumi yelled, jumping on his back. "BEAR TIME!"

". . ."

"Yoshiki?"

"I am already allowing you to feed me fish," Yoshiki sighed, irritated at having been ripped from his thoughts. "And now you're _riding _me?"

"Of course! Go bear! Go!"

"Bears are not to be ridden. They are not horses."

"Yes they are!" Ayumi said. "Go to the kitchen! The fish should be thawed by now. I'll cook it and then I'll feed it to you! And then I'll groom you!"

"I don't even like fish that much . . ." Yoshiki sighed, but nonetheless began walking towards the kitchen. "In addition to that, we're parents, and we're acting like children."

"So?"

"This is ridiculous."

"Aw, so does this mean I can't ride you?" Ayumi asked, placing her chin on his shoulder.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"Maybe . . . if you're a good bear."

He immediately perked up. "I suddenly have a craving for fish."

"Yay!"

"But not the fish thawing on the counter."

"DON'T BE GROSS!"

* * *

><p>Subaru sat on the opposite side of the Lego skyscraper, staring intensely at the arrays of grey's, black's and blue's that were the epitome of his and Tomoe's business. They couldn't be too hasty, for their business was now towering precariously almost at their own height's, shooting towards the ceiling with eloquence and beauty. Currently, Subaru was building around the bottom, adding other businesses such as post offices, restaurants, and a park. Meanwhile, Tomoe was adding to the top of the large business building, making sure it looked absolutely perfect before he would join Subaru on the bottom.<p>

"Don't even breathe on it," Subaru ordered. "It might break and fall."

"Mmhmm," Tomoe muttered, and then after placing the final piece, began to slowly back away. "Whew . . . that was close."

"Yeah," Subaru said. "Hey, should we add a barber shop, or not?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Um . . . isn't it a place that you . . . uhh . . . I don't know. I heard it on T.V."

Tomoe dropped down beside Subaru. "Oh well. Let's just make one up then."

"Alright."

"Yay! We should hang out at your place next time, Subaru!"

Subaru froze in anger, being forced to even have to _think_ about Yoshiki. He knew he couldn't have Tomoe over, and it was because of many reasons. One, he didn't want to be caught having lied about having a father, because honestly who lied about that? Two, somehow he knew for a fact that if Tomoe were to ever meet Yoshiki, he'd instantly like him and so would begin the pestering: "Why don't you like him?" "Wow, he's so nice!" "You're lucky to have a dad like him!" "Can I come over to your house?" "He's cool!"

And Subaru most definitely did _not _want to deal with that . . .

"Well? Can I?"

"Huh?" Subaru asked.

"Can I come over?" Tomoe repeated.

"Uh, I'll have to ask . . ."

"Okay! Let's keep building!"

Subaru nodded and prepared to pick up another piece and as he did, he happened to glance at the clock on the wall. "My mom says I'll be leaving around 3 o'clock. So we have to hurry."

"I'll just leave it here," Tomoe said. "And when you come back over, we can add more!"

"Alright, sure."

"Yay!"

_"He's annoying," _Subaru thought, miserably. _"But I guess he's alright. Nobody's perfect, I guess . . ."_

More and more time passed as Subaru and Tomoe continued to build until eventually the two boys could hear knocking in the distance.

"Guess that's my mom," Subaru sighed, before standing.

"I'll walk you out," Tomoe said, sweetly, also standing and leading Subaru out of his room.

Subaru was glad he was leaving. Sure, Tomoe was good entertainment, but he really _was _getting tired of the niceness. Now he just wanted to be alone, in his room, by himself. Maybe he'd watch some T.V. or take a nap, and now that he thought about, a nap did sound pretty good to his worn out five year old mind. Not that he'd ever admit he was tired or anything-after all, he was a cocky five year old who knew everything.

"Well, bye-bye Subaru!" Tomoe said, preparing to part from his friend as they reached the door. "I guess I'll see you-

"What are _you _doing here . . ." Subaru stated darkly to the man at the door. Completely ignoring Tomoe, he took a step towards the predator preparing to unleash a wave of anger, but he was stopped by Tomoe barreling in front of him.

"Who are you?" Tomoe asked, looking from Yoshiki and back to his mother who was kindly holding the door open. "Are you Subaru's dad?!"

_"Great!" _Subaru thought. _"Now he's going to tell Tomoe the truth and now I'm going to seem like a liar! Tomoe will make fun of me, and his mom will try to invite him in for tea and Yoshiki will tell her allllll about what a good dad he is! Meanwhile, I'll be sitting all alone and Tomoe will be sucking up to him and asking him everything about his stupid life, and-_

"No," Yoshiki said, simply. "I'm not. I'm just a friend of his mother's."

Tomoe was silent and staring, his jaw wide open from shock.

"Just a friend?" Tomoe's mother asked. "Oh my . . ."

Yoshiki smiled kindly. "No, no. It's not like that at all. I really am honestly just a friend. I will be dropping Subaru off at her house, and then I will be on my way."

"Oh, I see."

"Whoa," Tomoe said. "Do you have a family?!"

"Tomoe!" his mother shouted, and then looked at Yoshiki apologetically. "I'm so sorry. He's just always been curious. You're so much younger than I am, so I wouldn't think that you had a family-Oh! I hope I haven't offended you!"

"Not at all," Yoshiki told her, and then looked down at Tomoe. "I don't have a family."

"Awwww!"

"TOMOE!"

Chuckling, Yoshiki reached down and ruffled Tomoe's hair. "It's okay. I will one day."

"Ahem!" Subaru cleared his throat. "Can we go now?"

Yoshiki nodded. "Yes. Thank you for having him over."

"Oh, he was no problem! Bye Subaru!"

"Bye," Subaru muttered, quickly walking out of the house.

He spotted the car ahead of him and quickly hurried towards it, wanting to avoid contact with Yoshiki. Obviously, it was inevitable, because he and Yoshiki were going to be in the car together going home. And it sucked, because after everything he had just heard, he _really _didn't want to talk to Yoshiki.

He told Tomoe that he wasn't his father.

He told Tomoe that he didn't have a family.

He said that he was only a friend of his mother's.

And it _pissed _Subaru off . . .

A/N: Whoa . . .


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

_"I can't believe he said that . . ." _Subaru thought, the conversation still fresh on his mind. _"Why? What reason did he have to say that?"_

Subaru didn't know what to think. Or what to ask. Their current situation however provided the perfect environment for him to ask something. Both he and Yoshiki were seated in the backseat of the car, a driver upfront taking them home. The atmosphere was quiet and heavy, literally begging one of them to speak.

He was so angry, and so confused at the same time. If he knew Yoshiki at all, he wouldn't have lied like that . . .

Or maybe he didn't know Yoshiki at all. Maybe the man was more complex than he had thought. Subaru had to admit, he thought he could see straight through Yoshiki. He could have sworn that his intentions were to come into his life and steal his mother away from him and be nothing but a detriment. He figured he was going to be one of those evil people who was mean to him when they were alone, and the perfect father when they weren't.

But now that he thought about it, Yoshiki has been nothing but kind to him, and it pained him to admit it. He truly wanted to hate Yoshiki, he really did, but he couldn't-especially after what just happened. Now he didn't know how to feel about the situation, and as the time passed and the trees whizzed by, he found himself growing sad.

Why did Yoshiki deny him? Why did he deny his mother? What made him lie about having a family?

"_Doesn't he love us . . .? He has too; he says it all the time! I can't even count how many times he's told me he loves me . . . so why did he act like he didn't even know me . . .?"_

"Why?" Subaru asked, finally cracking. "Why did you lie to them?"

"I didn't want you to get in trouble," Yoshiki said. "You told Tomoe that you didn't have a father, so I didn't want him to think you were a liar."

"_Oh no . . ." _Subaru thought. _"He heard that . . . what have I done?"_

"Oh . . ."

"I'm sorry," Yoshiki apologized. "This is entirely my fault. I shouldn't have pushed myself on you so hard. It all happened so fast, and it made you wary and for that, I'm sorry. I got ahead of myself."

" . . ."

"I guess I just really wanted you to like me. I was so obsessed with getting you to think of me as a father that I forgot how stressful this probably all is for you. I just wanted you to need me in your life, and I was selfish because of that."

" . . ."

"You hate me, and after thinking about it, I think I would hate me too," Yoshiki sighed. "I hated my father. He was a liar, a cheater, and was mean to the people he should have cared about. No matter how many times I told myself I would never be like him, I turned out to be a carbon copy of him. I've lied, cheated, and I was cruel to someone that didn't even deserve it. Granted, it was six years ago, and I've matured since then, but it doesn't erase the fact that I still did it."

Subaru was silent after the sudden confession. All he knew was that he felt immensely bad for Yoshiki. He had never seen him look so forlorn and depressed, and it made him feel sick.

"I'm not going to pressure you into liking me anymore," Yoshiki continued. "And I'm not going to get mad when things don't progress as fast as I want them too. I'm just going to let you come to me, _if _you ever decide that you want to come to me. I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to."

"You never forced me . . ." Subaru muttered. "It was fine, and I'm sorry for what I said."

"It's okay. You had no reason not to say that."

"I don't think I meant it when I said that I didn't need a dad . . . I just didn't like you."

"I understand."

"But . . ."

Wait, what was he even trying to say? Was he going to admit defeat and actually tell Yoshiki that he wanted him and that he needed him? He didn't want to do that at all, and a part of him wanted to do the exact opposite. But another part of him, a much bigger part, just wanted to close to distance between them and hug Yoshiki. Subaru allowed his mind to drift back to the last embarrassing time he had hugged him and he remembered something important that he had felt throughout the entire embrace.

Security.

And there was nothing wrong with that. Of course he felt secure in his father's arms. Who wouldn't-

"_Did I seriously just call him my father?" _Subaru asked himself, and then looked over at Yoshiki from the corner of his eye. _"Ugh, why do I feel so bad?"_

Every emotion he could possibly feel was overwhelming him, and Subaru struggled with which one to just give in to and accept. He had so many options. He could continue hating Yoshiki, he could ignore him, he could forgive him and move on, or he could accept him . . . The problem was, which one satisfied him the most? Which one would make him the happiest? Would it make him happy to just finally accept Yoshiki as his father? Would it _really_?

"_Yeah . . ." _he answered himself. _"I think so . . ."_

But how would he go about telling him? He couldn't just outright say it-that would be too embarrassing. So what would he do . . .?

Meanwhile, Yoshiki was having his own internal conflict. He hoped that he hadn't confused Subaru with his confession that included his past errors, but Subaru needed to know. It was just much easier to explain himself if he included elements of the way he was raised and who he grew up with. He also wanted to include the mistakes he made so that he could maybe somehow atone for how pushy he had been.

Yoshiki knew he wasn't perfect. Especially not when it came to personal relationships. It truly was hard for him to connect to most people. Shortly after entering college and living in a new country, he had come to terms with the fact that he probably had one of the worst personalities someone could possibly have. He was dull, simple, and awfully plain. Most of the time he offered no variety or substance to a conversation, which made him come across as boring.

However, the most negative aspect of his personality, was that he was pushy because he was spoiled. He knew this. He _knew _this.

So why didn't he try to control it better?

"Dad?"

Hadn't he had this conversation with himself before? Why didn't it make it impact?

"Dad?"

Why did it have to come to the point where Subaru actually grew to hate him _so much _that he would tell someone that he didn't exist?

"Dad?"

Was it because of how he treated Akira in the past? Was it all coming back to haunt him? Probably! Or maybe it was the spirit of his grandfather! His father _had _prayed to that statue awfully hard. What if his grandfather actually heard everything and was now cursing his very existence?

"Dad!"

"Who are you talking to?" Yoshiki asked, completely absentminded from all of his internal thoughts.

"W-what?" Subaru stuttered. "You!"

"Do you need something?"

Subaru blanched. "Um . . . did you not hear me calling you?"

Yoshiki shook his head. "Sorry, I was absorbed in my thoughts. Would you like something to eat before we go home?"

"Well-

"We're having fish . . ."

"Ew."

"I know. I hate it too."

"Let's stop somewhere," Subaru suggested and then gulped. ". . . D-d-da-umm . . ."

"What's wrong?"

"A-Ah . . . nothing."

"Hmm? Alright."

Subaru shrugged and sat back in the seat, but not getting comfortable in the slightest. In silence, he was left to his thoughts on how in the world he was going to force the wretched 'D' word out of his mouth . . .


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Subaru ate quietly at the kitchen table watching his two parents bicker back and forth.

"Why did you get him fast food?" Ayumi pouted. "We were going to have fish!"

"No child comes home from playing at a friend's house and wants fish," Yoshiki explained. "It would be cruel of us to make him eat that."

"Subaru, you like fish right?" Ayumi asked.

"Umm," he said. "Kind of."

"See!?"

"But I like burgers and fries more."

"As do I," Yoshiki added.

"Well, when you're fat and I'm still slim and beautiful, we'll see who's still talking!" Ayumi said. "You have the fat gene Yoshiki. I'd watch it."

Yoshiki rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You would still want me if I was 800 pounds."

"Would not!"

"Would too."

"No, I wouldn't!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes ma'am."

"NOOOOO!"

"MOM! DAD! STOP!" Subaru yelled, and then instantly gasped when he realized what he'd said.

Suddenly two pairs of eyes were on him and Subaru paled as if he were being caught stealing. His heart was racing and he was nervous of what their reaction would be, but he was glad that they had finally heard him say the 'D' word. Now all he had to do was wait . . .

"You like lemon pepper fish, right?" Ayumi asked, moving over towards the thawed out fish slathered on a pan covered in tinfoil.

"I suppose," Yoshiki said.

"Okay good! Because lemon pepper is Reiji's favorite."

"What? Who invited him?"

"I did! We haven't seen him in a while and I'm sure Subaru misses him, right Su?"

Meanwhile Subaru had let his head fall to the granite counter top and hit with a sickening cracking sound. In complete dismay, he muttered, "Yeah . . ."

"See, Yoshiki?" Ayumi asked. "You can't blame Subaru for wanting to see Reiji. He's been like a father to him all of these years."

Subaru cringed.

"Ah," Yoshiki agreed. "You are right about that. Maybe he should come over more often."

"I'm thinking about letting him pick Subaru up from school a couple of times a week. Would you like that Subaru?"

". . ."

"Subaru?"

"I don't know . . ."

"You can discuss it with him when he arrives," Yoshiki said, and then turned back towards Ayumi. "Now, do you need any help?"

Ayumi beamed. "Sure!"

* * *

><p>Subaru sat quietly in his room, the T.V. blaring loudly before him. He wasn't really watching it though; he just wanted it loud enough so that he didn't have to hear his father and mother talking in the next room. As soon as he had thrown himself down onto his bed in frustration, he knew that this was something he shouldn't have to be dealing with. He was only a child, why was he being made to think about things like this and make adult decisions? Unfortunately, he just wasn't smart enough or competent enough to handle such decisions, and it wasn't fair that he was being forced to!<p>

Reiji was going to make an appearance after he had just recently come to the decision of accepting Yoshiki as his father, and Subaru was lost on what to do. How would he treat Reiji? What would they talk about? Would Reiji pick up on the fact that lately he wasn't going to be greeting him with the same happy aura that he was used to?

All of his life he had considered Reiji a father, and Reiji knew this. But now that he wasn't going to be doing that anymore, what would Reiji think? Would Reiji hate him for that?

No . . . Reiji wasn't that kind of person. Subaru figured he was just over reacting. Even if it hurt Reiji's feelings, he would get over it, because no matter what, Yoshiki _was _his real father. In the worst case scenario, Reiji would get mad and never speak to him again, but once again, Yoshiki would always be there for him.

However, Subaru didn't want to think about that. He just wanted everyone to be happy and it was so hard trying to make sure everyone was. Why did this have to happen to him . . .?

"AYUMI!" a shrill voice reverberated through the house, catching Subaru's attention. "How have you been?!"

Subaru quickly turned off the T.V. and ran into the living room where he could see Reiji and his mother hugging and greeting each other with happy smiles.

"You have missed out on _so _many parties," Reiji said, shaking Ayumi's shoulders.

"You had better not be hosting parties at the duplex that _I_ ampaying for," Yoshiki threatened. "I'm paying for your housing so that you can attend college and make something of yourself. Not so you can goof off and party all day and night."

"Okayyyy, so I hosted a couple of _little _parties at the duplex, but it's not that big of a deal," Reiji chuckled. "_You _need to loosen up! Come party with us sometime, and you too Ayumi!"

"How unbecoming," Yoshiki muttered, before walking into the living room. "I am a working man with a family. I do not _party_."

"He's just grouchy because we're having . . ." Ayumi trailed off, smirking at Reiji.

Reiji gasped. "SHUT UP!"

"Lem-

"AHHHHHHHH! I LOVE YOU!"

Subaru smiled slightly at the interaction between his mother and Reiji, basking in the familiar aura he grew up in. He was used to seeing them so happy and bubbly all of the time and it made him feel happy as well. It wasn't as if his mother was unhappy at all living with Yoshiki; but he certainly _wasn't _Reiji. Subaru found himself enjoying the peace in his new home though. It was a nice change from a usually loud and hectic atmosphere.

Before he lost his nerve, he quickly strode over to his father and pulled himself up onto the couch so that he could sit beside him.

"Do they eat fish often?" Yoshiki asked him.

"Yeah," Subaru answered.

"I think all the mercury has gone to their head . . ."

"Mercury?"

"It's something in fish that's very toxic to you if you ingest too much of it."

"Can it kill you?!"

"Yes, it's fatal."

Subaru shook his head and sighed. Yoshiki was also very blunt and straightforward. Couldn't he have at least made it sound a little less scary?

"But you don't have to worry about it," Yoshiki smiled, reaching out to pat Subaru's head. "You'd have to eat a _lot _of fish to succumb to mercury poisoning."

"_He's touching me . . ." _Subaru thought, relishing in the touch. _"Dad . . ."_

"Sorry," Yoshiki muttered, just as Subaru was beginning to enjoy the touch. "I didn't mean to . . ."

"_Way to go, idiot . . ." _Yoshiki mentally berated himself. _"Stop. Being. Pushy."_

Subaru just stared, emotions of hurt and sadness coursing through his body. "But-

"Su!" Reiji yelled, and Subaru felt two arms wrapping around him. "How have you been?!"

"W-well," Subaru stuttered, and watched Yoshiki walk away and return to the kitchen. "Um . . . I'm okay."

"Good! How's school been?"

"Okay."

After releasing a small huff of irritability, Subaru could tell that Reiji was picking up on his stress, and the man reached out to pat his head.

"You just get more depressed every time I see you," Reiji said, poking out his bottom lip. "When I asked you how Yoshiki was before, you told me he was fine . . . but was that the truth?"

"Huh?" Subaru asked. "What do you mean?"

"Is he really okay? Is living here _okay_?" Reiji asked, struggling not to coach Subaru to say something that wasn't true. "Because Su, if it's not okay, you need to tell someone."

Confused, Subaru just stared up at Reiji and waited for him to continue.

"Yoshiki's not mean is he?"

Finally seeing where Reiji was going, Subaru immediately shook his head. "No! No, no, no! He's nice!"

"Okay. Well the next time I come over, I want to see you with a smile on your face! Frowning isn't good for the soul!"

Subaru managed a small chuckle at Reiji's dramatic attitude towards the situation. He knew that if he wanted to, he could tell Reiji all about his acceptance of Yoshiki as a father and how he was struggling to get him to realize that he had changed his attitude towards him, but he didn't want to bother Reiji with it. And knowing him, Reiji would just run over to Yoshiki and tell him outright, and Subaru wanted to retain _some _of his pride.

"It's done!" Ayumi announced. "Ohhh it smells so good!"

Yoshiki didn't answer and Subaru could hear Ayumi clearing her throat dangerously.

"Yes," Yoshiki muttered. "It smells wonderful."

"It certainly does smell good!" Reiji yelled, racing into the kitchen. "I'll eat your share if you don't want it!"

"Absolutely not."

"But you act like you don't want it!"

"Do not assume you know me based off of my actions."

"W-wh-what?! Ayumi! He's being mean!"

"YOSHIKI! BE NICER!"

Subaru sighed to himself and went to join the 'adults' for dinner . . .

A/N: Sorry about slow updates. I'll be back on a regular uploading schedule tomorrow! :)


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS! Once again, not sure if this needs a warning, but I DO NOT OWN _SORRY, _the board game!

Father

"Sorry?" Yoshiki asked. "What is that?"

"You've never played?!" Reiji asked. "What?! You _have _to play with us!"

"We used to play it all the time together!" Ayumi said, furiously setting up the board and pawns with Reiji. "It'll be fun!"

Yoshiki sighed. "I will just watch."

"I don't really want to play," Subaru muttered.

"Why not?" Reiji asked. "It's your favorite game, Su!"

_"Su . . ." _Yoshiki thought, irritated. _"I cannot stand how he calls him that . . ."_

Yes, over the course of dinner and now as he was setting up the board, Reiji had been pestering Yoshiki to no end-and he didn't even know he was doing it. Yoshiki didn't want to hate Reiji at all since he was Ayumi's close friend, but he couldn't help it. Reiji had been so annoying this entire time! It was obvious that when he met him, Yoshiki had quickly realized that Reiji was gay-which didn't bother him at all. He had nothing against homosexuality, however, as he continued to watch his interaction with Ayumi, he was beginning to think that Reiji wasn't as gay as he thought he was.

He had been constantly touching Ayumi's hair, hugging her, hanging on her, and even went as far as resting his chin on her shoulder as she cooked.

It's wasn't like he was trying to be possessive of Ayumi or anything, but Yoshiki was sick of Reiji touching what was his. Yoshiki knew Ayumi wasn't his property, and he didn't treat her as such, but dammit, he owned her! The whole thing was a contradiction of course, but Yoshiki didn't really think anything of it.

_"I'm safe in my thoughts . . ." _Yoshiki thought to himself. _"If she ever heard me refer to her as my property, I would never hear the end of it."_

_ "Yoshiki . . ." _Ayumi's voice rang out in his head.

He quickly looked over at her, only to find that she was staring intensely back at him.

"_You really think you can hide from me in something as pathetic as your thoughts? Now get your ass over here and play Sorry with us, or you'll be REALLY sorry later tonight . . ."_

"Did I say I would watch?" Yoshiki asked, nervously.

"Yeah," Reiji said. "Which is a shame since it's a lot more fun with more-

"I was absolutely kidding. Just let me read the instructions and then we'll be on our way."

"I didn't know you liked board games Yoshiki!" Ayumi said, sitting down beside him.

"I don't," Yoshiki answered. "I love them."

"You do?" Subaru asked, also taking a seat.

"Of course I do."

"Well, screw the instructions!" Reiji said. "We'll teach you as we go! Okay, so who wants to go first?!"

"ME!" Ayumi said, reaching down and grabbing a card. "Ooh! Ten!"

"You go girl!"

Just as Ayumi was about to grab her pawn and move it ten places, but Yoshiki grabbed her hand.

"Wait," he said, reading the instructions. "The first player is decided upon by drawing a one or two. Those are the only cards that dictate the moving of a pawn from the starting place."

"Oh God . . ." Reiji muttered. "I can't believe this. Don't be one of _those _guys!"

"Those guys?" Yoshiki asked. "I am reading the instructions. This is how you play."

"No!" Ayumi protested. "We don't do it like that! It's not fun to play by the rules! It's stupid that a one and a two are the only cards that allow you to move your pawn from start!"

Yoshiki shook his head. "It is not stupid. It's a rule. Rules are supposed to be followed."

"Since when do you follow the rules?!"

" . . . What? I'm trying to follow them now. What are you talking about?"

"Seriously?" Ayumi asked. "You're willing to follow the rules of a stupid board game, but you can't honor the covenants of marriage? Really?"

At this, Reiji's mouth dropped open. "Ooh . . ."

"You're bringing this up now?" Yoshiki asked, and then looked over at Reiji. "And do not 'ooh' at us. In fact, don't say anything. I'm growing tired of you."

"Hey!" Ayumi yelled. "Don't snap at Reiji! Leave him alone! He's been nothing but nice!"

"Of course he has been. To _you _that is. He can't keep his hands off of you."

"Reiji is my _friend_! Nothing is going on between us! You don't own me you know! You treat me like I'm your prized lawnmower or something, and you get mad when other people touch me!"

"Oh really? Well excuse me for getting mad when another man comes into my home and explicitly touches my _girlfriend_."

"Explicit?" Reiji asked. "Do you even know what 'explicit' means? Are you an idiot?"

"Do _not _call me an idiot in my house," Yoshiki said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Don't forget who's keeping a roof over your head. Who is the idiot now? I own and have a masters degree in business. What do you have?"

Ayumi scowled. "My God! _Everything _has to be about property with you! 'My house' this, 'my house' that; can't you care about something other than materialistic things you've bought with _money_?!"

"Don't you dare tell me what I care about!" Yoshiki yelled, finally raising his voice. "You know I care about you and Subaru more than any item!"

"IS THAT WHY YOU LEFT AND DIDN'T CONTACT ME ONE TIME IN SIX YEARS?!"

"GET OVER THAT! I AM HERE NOW AND THAT'S ALL THAT SHOULD MATTER!"

"IT DOES MATTER! THAT'S SIX YEARS THAT YOU WON'T GET BACK! FIVE OF THOSE YEARS WERE WITH SUBARU, AND YOU'VE MISSED OUT COMPLETELY!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I REALIZE THAT?! HOW CAN YOU BRING SOMETHING UP LIKE THAT-HAVE YOU NO HEART?!"

"NO! I HAD TO GET RID OF MY HEART AND FEELINGS WHEN I WAS FORCED TO ATTEND SCHOOL, PREGNANT, WITH THE FATHER NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT WAS?! NO ONE TOOK ME SERIOUSLY, AND I LOST ALL OF MY RESPECT THAT I WORKED SO HARD TO GAIN!"

"ARE YOU SAYING YOUR OWN SON WAS NOT WORTH THE 'STRUGGLE'?"

"NO I AM NOT! I'M SAYING THAT FOR ME HAVING TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT, SHOULD MEAN THAT YOU DON'T DESERVE HIM OR ME! I'M GLAD SUBARU HATES YOU! YOU DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR HIM!"

"WELL HOW CAN I FIX IT?!" Yoshiki yelled, growing tired of the argument. "HOW CAN I COMPENSATE FOR THIS FIVE YEAR GAP?!"

"YOU CAN'T!"

Yoshiki just sighed in anguish. "Well what do you want me to do?!"

"Nothing!" Ayumi screamed, walking away. "As of right now, I just want you out of my face!"

And with those final words, she had locked herself in her bedroom. In the midst of all of the yelling, Reiji had escaped, and Subaru had finally resulted to just crying softly to himself.

He was the reason they were fighting. It was all because of him. If he hadn't been born, Yoshiki coming back wouldn't have been such a big deal. But now that he was there, Ayumi resented him, and hated him for not being there.

But no one knew how _he _felt. Subaru had fully come to terms with the fact that Yoshiki wasn't there for the first five years of his life. He didn't _care _about that anymore. So what if he missed out on five years? Ultimately, Yoshiki would be there for the years to come. Subaru was completely okay with this, and just wanted them as a family to move past it. Why were they fighting about it? Especially now-just when he had come to accept everything as it was?

"Subaru . . ." Yoshiki muttered, coming to sit beside him. "Please don't cry. It will be okay . . ."

Flinging himself into his father's arms, he continued to cry, hot tears slipping out of his eyes soaking into Yoshiki's clothes.

"Do you want Mom?" Yoshiki asked, petting Subaru softly.

"No . . ." Subaru muttered. "I want Dad . . ."

Stunned, Yoshiki grew quiet and continued to hold onto Subaru. Hearing those words made him want to ask so many questions, but realizing that Subaru wasn't in any condition to talk, he simply let it go and just focused on trying to calm him down. He felt so bad for making Subaru cry and now that Subaru was in his arms and had just referred to him as _dad, _he didn't want to let him go . . .

"I'm sorry . . ."

A/N: The 'hurt/comfort' part of this story is about to hit, and it's going to hit HARD . . .


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

It was currently three o'clock in the morning and Subaru had fallen asleep in his lap. Yoshiki continued to run his fingers through his hair as if it was the only thing keeping him asleep. He himself hadn't thought about going to sleep or closed his eyes even once, but he couldn't anyways. The fight with Ayumi was still fresh on his mind and he wasn't in any mood to climb into a bed and sleep beside her. He hated arguing with her in general, and not to be condescending, but Ayumi was one to argue over the most idiotic things. Usually her arguments weren't that great either, and she only 'won' fights because of the sheer volume of her voice, or getting the last word in and leaving the room.

Did she really think that he didn't know that he had missed out on the first five years of his son's life? Because he _did _know, and it stung every time she brought it up. He hadn't known she was pregnant and if he remembered correctly, he could have sworn they were using protection . . . or maybe not . . . but that didn't matter! What _did _matter was that he was here now and he was trying his damned hardest just to be accepted.

He loved her, and his son, _and_ provided a roof over their heads _AND_ food on the table. He was even paying for her friend's housing so that he could go to college-was that not good enough? What more did she want from him?

"Dad . . ." Subaru muttered, roused from his sleep.

With wide eyes, Yoshiki stared at him as he fully awoke to a state of consciousness, curious as to what his next movements would be.

Rubbing his eyes slightly, Subaru muttered, "What time is it?"

"It's three o'clock in the morning," Yoshiki answered. "And . . . when did you start calling me Dad?"

"Ever since we left Tomoe's . . ." Subaru said. "I had a . . . revolution."

Yoshiki chuckled. "I think you mean 'revelation'."

"Oh . . . I don't wanna talk about it."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just glad you love me now."

Subaru narrowed his eyes. "Don't push it. I _like _you, alright?"

"That's good enough for me."

Subaru felt the strong impulse to hug him and he did, even though it was super cheesy. The feeling he got out of the hug though, was that of . . . completeness. Burying his nose into the crook of Yoshiki's neck, he inhaled deeply, the scent of his cologne still strong after so many hours of wearing it.

Why? Why didn't he want to let go . . .?

Despite everything, his pride and all, he had come to the fact that he certainly did like Yoshiki now, _maybe_ even loved him. But there was absolutely no way he was ready to actually vocalize that thought.

"I am happy though," Yoshiki added suddenly.

"Really?" Subaru asked.

"Yes. However, things aren't turning out like I planned for them."

"What do you mean?"

"As soon as I gained your approval, I planned to propose to your mother. But at this point, I don't think she'd accept it."

"You're going to marry her?"

"I want to, yes."

". . . Hmm . . .?"

Yoshiki raised a brow. "What are you thinking?"

"Mom said something about honoring covenants . . ."

"That was in a previous marriage of mine."

"Oh yeah. I heard Mom mentioning it sometimes."

"That's in the past though. To tell you the truth, I never really loved my wife, and I was still seeing your mother while I was married."

"Whoa," Subaru said. "That happened to this kid in class and his parents went to court . . ."

"It was probably for a custody battle," Yoshiki told him. "It's a fight over who should have the child."

"That's not going to happen to us, right?"

"No. And I will not propose to her until I'm sure we have worked things out. I would not want you to go through something like that. I am already ashamed to have let you see us scream at each other like we did. Children shouldn't be exposed to things like that."

Subaru sighed. "It's okay."

"It really isn't," Yoshiki chuckled, patting his head. "But I am glad you're fine now. Would you like me to take you to your room to sleep?"

"Where will you go?"

"I will be fine."

Subaru looked away awkwardly before a plan suddenly entered his mind. "Sleep in my room!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Go in there. I will come in a minute."

Yoshiki followed his command and left, leaving Subaru alone. As soon as Yoshiki had disappeared, Subaru ran into Ayumi's room to find her awake. Well, he couldn't really see her since she was buried underneath the covers, but he could tell she was awake by her quiet sobs.

Walking over to the bed, he jumped up onto it and situated himself under the covers with her so that he could talk to her. Seeing his mother cry like this all alone was not new to him. Many times he had walked in on her crying, and it was for the same reason every single time.

"Mommy," Subaru muttered, gently reaching out and touching her hair.

"Su . . ." Ayumi sniffled, wiping frantically at her tears. "Ugh, why am I so weak? I used to be able to kick his ass and now all I can do is cry . . ."

Subaru frowned. "Go say sorry."

"NO."

"But if you don't, he won't marry you!"

There was a pause in the atmosphere, and then Ayumi gasped. "W-what . . ."

"He said he was going to propose, but he won't do it because he doesn't want you to fight in front of me, and he doesn't think you'll accept it anyways."

" . . ."

Ayumi said nothing and continued to cry, feeling even worse than she did before. Not only had she just fought with Yoshiki over something absolutely stupid, but she had thwarted her chances at _finally _becoming his wife.

"You don't hate him anymore, do you . . ." Ayumi stated.

Subaru shook his head, letting her know that he wouldn't be on her side. "Please go say sorry."

"Now?" Ayumi asked.

"I'll go get him," Subaru said, adamantly, leaving the room and heading towards his own.

He wanted his parents to make up immediately-what child didn't? It was weird to see his _actual _parents fighting. He didn't like it when Ayumi and Reiji fought either, but _this _was worse. The situation made him feel like he had to take sides, and he knew he couldn't do that. If all else failed, he'd pick his mother's side in a heartbeat, but deep down inside, he knew it wouldn't be fair for Yoshiki at all. All he wanted was to be a family, and with everything that was happening it was beginning to seem so impossible.

"Dad?" Subaru said, walking into his room. "Mom wanted to-

He was cut off to find Yoshiki dead asleep in his bed, and when he rushed back to tell Ayumi the news he had discovered that she was asleep as well. Not wanting to wake either of them, he decided to go back to his room and just go to sleep with Yoshiki . . .


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

The next day, Subaru had woken up before both of his parents. He had slept extremely peacefully that night, but due to waking up at three o'clock in the morning, his body was experiencing the extreme lethargy. At this point he was almost so tired that he_ wasn't_ tired. The only thing he had to look forward to in terms of sleeping was the thirty minute nap he was allowed during class, but that wasn't for six more hours.

In an attempt to get a few more minutes of peace, he curled back into his bed that he was currently sharing with Yoshiki, and closed his eyes. As soon as he did though, Yoshiki awoke and stirred, bringing him out of his sleep.

"It's only six o'clock in the morning," Subaru mumbled. "Can I sleep some more before school?"

Yoshiki nodded. "You may sleep all you like. I won't make you go to school today if you are too tired. You were up for a majority of the night and it would be cruel to make you suffer through eight hours of work."

"W-w-wh-what? Seriously?"

"Sure."

"Wow . . ." Subaru sighed quietly, already falling back asleep. "Dad, you're cool. Mom would never let me stay out just because I'm tired."

Ruffling his hair in appreciation, Yoshiki smiled before getting up and heading into the living room. It was dark, and at six o'clock in the morning there wasn't any daylight streaming through the windows. Deciding to turn on the lights, he headed over to the light switch on the wall and flicked them on, the intensity burning his retinas momentarily. Again, he wasn't in the mood to go to his bedroom, so he sat down on the couch and began to watch T.V.

Eventually the sun began to rise, and as expected, Ayumi finally ventured out of the room to get Subaru dressed for school.

"Don't," Yoshiki said, quietly. "I told him that he did not have to go to school today."

Ayumi stopped dead in her tracks and Yoshiki could instantly tell that she was debating on whether or not to turn around and start fighting again, or just apologize and try to move on. Unfortunately for him, she didn't pick the latter. However, he wasn't too surprised-this _was _Ayumi after all, and she despised admitting defeat.

"What?" she hissed, angrily turning to face him. "What do you mean you told him he didn't have to go to school? He has to go to school Yoshiki! Are you an idiot?"

"He can miss one day, Ayumi. If you're worried about it hindering his performance, you shouldn't be. He derives his intellect from me."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Lower your voice. He's in the next room."

"I don't care, Yoshiki! I just don't care! We're already in a fight! Are you trying to make me angrier by indirectly suggesting that I'm not smart?!"

Yoshiki shook his head. "No."

"Well explain the snide comment, 'he derives his intellect from me,' then!"

Knowing he didn't really have an explanation to why he said it, Yoshiki just shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "I cannot explain it. I apologize-that was rude of me."

"Mmhmm!"

"Good," Yoshiki said, coming to a stand. "Now that the fight is over, I am going to take a shower."

Ayumi made a move to turn away from him and fix breakfast, but another question popped into her mind. "W-wait! What about marrying me?"

"Hmm?" Yoshiki asked, entering the bedroom, not wanting to speak to her about the issue.

Following him straight into the room and shutting the door threateningly behind her, Ayumi crossed her arms in anger. "You know what I'm talking about. Subaru came into my room last and told me that you said you wanted to marry me, but you wouldn't because we were fighting."

"And if I did? The fight is over, is it not?"

"Well . . . I guess."

"Then what are you worrying about?"

Ayumi looked away, a blush coating her cheeks. "When are you going to propose?"

"When I am good and ready," he answered haughtily.

"Oh come on!" Ayumi growled, stomping her foot. "I've been waiting! I've been waiting so long! You already married another woman before me, and I've given you a child! I deserve to be a wife, don't I? The _least _you owe me is asking me to marry you now!"

"Now? NOW?! I asked you seven years ago!" Yoshiki yelled, his patience finally wearing thin and snapping. "And _NOW _you want me to marry you?! Ayumi, you think that everyone's schedule just revolves around you, but it doesn't! You had the option of marrying me years ago, and you refused! And now that you're 'ready' to commit to me, I am just supposed to drop everything and ask you?! I cannot read your mind!"

Ayumi's eyes were wide as saucers at this point. In almost seven years of knowing him he had only risen his voice at her maybe a few times. Last night was intense, but _this _was the angriest she had ever gotten him before. In fear she had backed up against the door, moving away from him, but he continued to advance on her, intimidating her even more.

Due to her fighting nature, Ayumi didn't want to back down; but she also didn't want to die, so she began to think carefully about the right thing to say. And it was hard because Yoshiki was right about everything. She had had her chance several years ago to marry him, and she turned down the offer.

But, she did have a defense.

"You're right. I turned you down all those years ago. But how was I supposed to know we would end up together? How am I supposed to know that if I accept your proposal, we won't separate the day after we get married?!"

"For God's sakes, _no one knows_! You just have to have trust in your relationship, faith in your partner, and confidence in yourself! Do you _honestly _think that if people knew they were not going to end up together, we'd have so many divorces?! No! If people knew that their relationship was not going to work out, there would be absolutely no divorces because people would not get married in the first place!"

Knowing he was right and knowing that she had lost, Ayumi shamelessly started to cry in front of him. Using the door as support, she leaned against it and cried her eyes out, hiding her face with her hands in shame. But as the time passed and her sobs grew louder and louder, she was shocked at what _wasn't _happening. Yoshiki hadn't moved an inch or said a word.

He wasn't hugging her, or comforting her, or telling her that it was going to be okay. Why? Even though she had caused the problem herself, and that this whole thing was all of her fault, couldn't he tell that she was distressed and needed him?

"I . . ." Ayumi managed to choke out, sincerity in her voice. "I guess that this means you _really _won't marry me now. I-I made you angry, didn't I?"

For a moment Yoshiki remained still and then he moved over to a drawer and Ayumi watched him with blurred vision as he ripped it open and began shoving clothes aside.

"Here's your proposal," he stated, opening a small black box. "I already bought the ring-I've lost track of how many years I've had it in advance, waiting for the perfect moment to give it to you. So here, just take it."

Tossing the ring at her feet, he grabbed a jacket and stormed past her. His tone of voice was completely lacking of _any _emotion, which scared Ayumi more than when he was yelling at her.

Feeling more tears escape her eyes, she allowed herself to slide slowly towards the floor, the sound of the front door slamming loudly behind him as he disappeared. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, Ayumi wiped her eyes and ran her hand over the carpet, feeling around for the ring. Eventually she felt the cool, little circle and she gingerly picked it up from the ground and examined it.

With cloudy eyes, Ayumi knew she couldn't really appreciate the beauty of the ring, but just from staring at it she could deduce that it probably cost more money than she could probably ever make in her entire life. But _this _certainly wasn't the way she envisioned herself acquiring such a magnificent ring. She thought she was going to be proposed to somewhere beautiful-perhaps over raging waters lapping at a shore, or overlooking mountainous land that stretched for hundreds of miles. She had already fulfilled her dream of crying, but _these_ weren't the tears she wanted the cry . . .

Everything had gone askew and as she clutched the ring fiercely to her chest, she knew it was her fault. Ayumi didn't blame Yoshiki for walking out on her either. Yes, she knew that he knew she had a hard time controlling her temper, but this time she had taken things too far . . . Why? Why did she _always _have to mess things up? And hadn't she had this conversation with herself before?

"Mom?" the innocent voice of her son reached her ears and Ayumi found herself immediately turning around to face him.

"S-Subaru!" Ayumi said, gripping his shoulders. "Did you hear anything?"

"Hear anything?" Subaru repeated. "No, I just got up . . . where's Dad? Did you two make up yet? Why are you crying?"

Unable to answer him, Ayumi simply dropped her forehead onto his shoulder and continued to sob uncontrollably.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

"Get your ass back over there and apologize!" Reiji yelled.

"How can you be on her side?" Yoshiki asked in confusion. "Did you not listen to a word I just told you?"

"Of course I did!" Reiji said. "Ayumi is a _bitch _but she's your bitch! You need to go home and make up with her, marry her, and be one happy family so I don't have to feel awkward every time I go over there!"

Yoshiki chuckled. "She is not a bitch Reiji. She's clinically insane."

"_She's _crazy?! What about the one that stalks her, impregnates her, then marries another woman, and _then _cheats on his wife with Ayumi, then impregnates Ayumi _again, _and finally disappears for six years?! Talk about crazy! You've already admitted to being obsessed with her-what is your problem?!"

". . ."

"You both have screws loose! Am I going to have to call CPS on you two?! Subaru doesn't need to be raised by crazy people!"

"I am not crazy," Yoshiki insisted. "_She_ is crazy for denying my proposal six years ago, and then as soon as she hears that I'm going to propose to her again, gets angry with me for having not done it yet. She wants it when she wants it-never mind that it is not convenient for anyone else!"

"What's stopping you from proposing?" Reiji asked. "What do you mean it's not convenient?"

"I did not want to do it until I was sure that Subaru had accepted me. I also did not want to do it while we absolutely detested each other. But she doesn't care. All she wants is to wear that ring around and call herself a wife! For what reason she wants to do that, I don't know-but so be it! I gave her the ring that she so desperately wanted. All we need are court papers now."

"C-c-court papers?! You asshole, can't you be more romantic?!"

"I would have been if she would have waited!"

"Well, she couldn't!" Reiji yelled. "I know this makes her look bad, but you don't understand! For the first year when I first moved in with her, all she would talk about is you! She would talk about how you and your wife must be getting along in America, and how you probably fell in love and-

"But-

"SHUT UP! I'm talking! She thought that if you spent enough time together with that woman that you'd eventually fall in love with her, and after about three years Ayumi just assumed that you had finally accepted Akira and forgotten about her! She'd often wonder about the lives you were living, and I promise you all she wanted was to be in Akira's place. She wouldn't even have cared if you hated her, she just wanted to be by your side."

"She had her chance. Six. Years. Ago. To marry me. And she didn't," Yoshiki growled. "I am _not_ in the wrong here!"

"I'm not saying you are! I know she had the chance to marry you, but she was from a different family! Ayumi isn't aware of the traditions that rich people like you uphold, and how seriously you take marriage, alright? She was only sixteen years old, how did you expect her to make a decision?! She didn't come from a wealthy family Yoshiki, she had no idea what she was even doing! Why are you holding that against her?!" Reiji asked. "You don't understand, and your kind of people never will! This is exactly why I said that old money doesn't look for love outside of their requirements! IT NEVER WORKS! Two people from different classes just shouldn't be together! Especially girls who work hard, raise a kid for five years, work, and attend college, and guys like you who get their ass wiped every day and never have to lift a finger to do shit!"

". . ."

"Yoshiki . . ." Reiji said quietly. "Just stop. Just give up. If you can't get over the fact that she denied your proposal six years ago, you will never love her because you'll feel-

"Inferior."

"Why do you feel inferior? She never loved anyone else but you!"

"She chose school over me."

"W-what?! Why does that bother you?!"

"Because if she would have just married me, she could have given up on school. She would not have had to ever study."

Reiji rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe she wanted to!"

"Why? She's a woman. She doesn't need to study, get an education, or work."

"WHAT?!"

"My mother didn't work."

"Oh my God, how sexist are you?!" Reiji asked with incredulity. "Did your mother raise you like this?!"

Yoshiki shrugged. "I raised myself. I watched how my parents interacted, and I learned."

"Well look, I don't know what you were exposed to as a child, but I'll tell you this: this is not a man's world! Ayumi can certainly have an education, a job, and make her own money if she wants to! She is not entitled to rely on you for everything! I mean, look at what's happened! These chauvinistic thoughts have caused you to run out on your alleged true love! If you keep thinking stupid shit like this, do you think you and her are going to last?!"

"Yes. I will tie her up and lock her in a room if I have to."

"NO! My God, are you raising Subaru to think like you?! Because if you are, I'm calling CPS right now!"

". . ."

"Look Yoshiki," Reiji sighed. "I'm done talking about this. I want you to go home and work things out with her without the chauvinistic attitude. You know that your thoughts about Ayumi are wrong, right?"

Yoshiki looked away in thought. True, he didn't want to stop Ayumi from getting an education and pursuing what she liked, but he still didn't understand. Why wouldn't she just let herself be taken care of? Wouldn't she be provided with the best life if she didn't have to do anything? All he wanted was for her to be able to relax and live out the rest of her days stress free, but according to Reiji, it seemed as if she didn't want that. It was weird, because Yoshiki knew that if someone offered to take care of him for the rest of his life, he would gladly accept it. Besides, she didn't even have a job now! Why couldn't he just assume his role as the provider and do what he was supposed to? Why was it so difficult to do the right thing?

Reiji snapped his fingers, grabbing Yoshiki's attention. "You look confused, so let me help you. Not all women want to work and make money alright? Some are completely fine with being just a simple housewife. But you have to understand that Ayumi isn't. You also have to understand that just because she's a woman, it doesn't mean she wants to be taken care of and rely on her husband all of her life."

Yoshiki nodded. "I understand . . . but I mean well."

"I know you do, but again this class mixing is forcing you to relearn everything that you once knew. It's why you shouldn't have fallen for her in the first place . . . but I can see how. Ayumi's such a doll, isn't she?"

". . ."

"Relax. I'm gay."

"I have my doubts. Do you always hug her when she cooks?"

Reiji giggled. "She's just so cute wearing her little apron and holding her spatula!"

_"She is . . ."_ Yoshiki thought to himself, bitter at Reiji for even having the same thoughts as him.

"Which is why you should go home and make up with her!" Reiji said. "What about Subaru? What is he thinking?"

"I checked on him before I left and he was sleeping," Yoshiki told him. "I don't think he heard anything."

"Oh, well that's good."

". . ."

"Okay! Go home already, jeez!"

"I will," Yoshiki said, turning around. "But first, I will visit my mother."

"WHAT?! NO! GO HOME!"

"I cannot. My mother awaits."

"You're making a mistake! Just go-

Reiji was cut off by the door slamming in his face.

A/N: So now we're kind of exposed to Yoshiki's mentality towards having a family and being a husband. Hmm . . . thoughts? I have been waiting desperately to reveal this side of him because I want it to be known that he DOES have flaws and that he's not perfect.

Also, as a side note, if you have a question for me you must make an account so that I can answer you via P.M. I will not answer questions any other way!

Annnnndddd while I'm here I'll just go ahead and warn that the story will be wrapping up very soon. HOWEVER, you guys voted and wanted another story after this one and so as a result of that, there will be! It will be the fifth and final installment, but that doesn't mean it's actually coming to an end. A lot of people as well as myself love this story and these characters, so the final story won't actually be a 'story'. It will be comprised of little miniature blimps of their lives (some of them will be drabbles, others will have four or five chapters to them). I hope to continue to update that story periodically while I work on a new piece of fiction as well, and I think everyone will be happy with this decision!

As always, thank you SO MUCH for reading and reviewing! It means a lot to me! :D


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Yoshiki didn't knock, but simply invited himself into his childhood home.

"Mother? I-

"And so, my tulips have bloomed impeccably!" Ayako said, receiving claps from her fellow gardener friends.

As soon as she heard his voice though, she turned swiftly towards him and gasped. "Yoshiki! You're here! Welcome home!"

"Oh!" one of the women sitting beside Ayako boasted. "Is this your son you've been mentioning? He's so handsome!"

Yoshiki just stood there dumbfounded as he was hurled with compliments. He knew that his mother was getting involved with extracurricular activities and such, but he didn't think that they actually involved meetings. Not only that, but there must of have been over thirty women gathered in the house, talking about nothing but fertilizers and flowers. What was he supposed to do now? He had expected to just talk to his mother about his situation with Ayumi, but it appeared that she was busy, and that he would have to wait.

"Mother, I would like to talk to you, but I can wait until your meeting has ended," he said, already trying to get away from the women.

"No, no, Yoshiki, just tell me!" Ayako said, waving him over. "I'm sure all the girls here can help you out! Right girls?"

"Of course Ayako!"

"Yay, let's help Yoshiki!"

And they all clapped together once again.

"It's more of a personal issue . . . with Ayumi."

"Oh, are you having relationship troubles?" one woman asked. "I can surely help! I've been married six times and have fourteen children!"

He paled. "I see."

"What's wrong with Ayumi?" Ayako asked. "You'll have to fill me in though; I haven't heard from you in some time!"

That was exactly the reason why he didn't want to tell her in front of all of the women. By no means was he afraid of speaking in public or anything, but he didn't want to go through the entire story about what had happened, and he especially didn't want to mention Subaru to all of them. His own _mother _didn't even know that she had a grandson yet. How rude would it be to announce it and have a bunch of strange women find out the same time his mother is finding out?

"It's nothing," he muttered, and began heading towards the staircase. "I will just wait."

"But-

"Please refrain from asking me repeatedly to tell you!" Yoshiki growled over his shoulder. "I am choosing to wait! Goodbye!"

Ayako's mouth dropped open as she stared at his retreating form in silence. When a door slammed shut, she turned to the other members in her group and shook her head in dismay.

"I don't know what has gotten into him," Ayako admitted. "He's usually so calm and collected, but he seems extremely agitated now . . ."

"It must be relational problems. I've been through it a lot," a woman said.

"Mmhmm, when I was still with my husband, we fought all of the time."

"But he's not meant to fight with Ayumi," Ayako said, frowning. "They were meant to be."

"Not everyone is meant to be Ayako."

"No! They are! I know they are! My husband and I didn't work out, but I _know _that they will . . . they are perfect for one another," Ayako said, confidently.

"We need to meet this Ayumi!"

"Oh yes! Let's clap on it!"

The woman in the room began to happily clap when they were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"Another member?" Ayako asked, standing up. "Ooh! I'll get it!"

Bouncing over to the door and hearing the giggling of the other members of her gardening group behind her, Ayako ripped open the door happily. "Welcome sister to our gar-

"A-Ayako . . ." Ayumi sniffled, tears in her eyes. "I-I ne-need to . . . to-to-

"Oh dearest!" Ayako cried, flinging her arms around Ayumi dramatically. "Please come in! Come in!"

After dragging Ayumi into the house, it was then that she noticed the little blonde haired boy following her and she frowned. "Oh? And who might this be?"

Ayumi began to cry even harder. "He-he-he's-his name is-is Subaru, and-uh-

"Shh, Ayumi calm down and speak to me."

"Grandson," Ayumi forced out.

Ayako didn't need to hear anymore though. With wide eyes that soon began to fill with tears, she bent down to Subaru's level and captured him into her arms. "Oh my grandson! I can't believe it! I have a grandson!"

_"What is happening?" _Subaru asked himself, hugging the woman back. _"This is my Grandma? Who are all these other people? And why is everyone crying?!"_

"Girls!" Ayako said, picking up Subaru. "This is my grandson, Subaru and this is his mother, Ayumi."

"Ooh!" they all said, and began to clap.

"Ayako . . ." Ayumi muttered. "Yoshiki and I just got into a _huge _fight. Basically-

"Explain to me later," Ayako said. "He's upstairs. Go talk to him, I can't stand to see you crying like this! We'll take care of Subaru."

Ayumi nodded and went running towards staircase leaving Subaru in Ayako's arms.

He began to look around the room and then back at Ayako before cocking his head innocently to the side. "Hi."

"OH, YOU'RE SO PRECIOUS!" Ayako cooed, hugging him tightly to her chest. "Why did they wait so long to introduce us?!"

"I don't know . . ." Subaru whispered hoarsely, feeling the breath being squeezed out of him.

"Let us hold him!" another woman said.

"No!" Ayako hissed, backing away from the group. "Mine!"

"SHARE HIM!"

"NO!"

_"Oh God . . ." _Subaru thought to himself, watching the group of women advance on him like hungry animals. _"Someone save me!"_

* * *

><p>Ayumi was standing outside of the door, trying to build the courage to open it and talk to him. Or actually, maybe she should knock and say it was her. Or maybe she should just sit outside and cry and wait for him. What if he refused to listen though? If she knocked on the door and asked to come in, what if he said, "Oh, it's you? Leave at once, I do not want to see you right now. As a matter of fact, I don't want to <em>ever <em>see you again!" So did that mean she should just open the door and walk in? But then what if he said, "As rude as always! You know that I'm still furious with you-do you tend to infuriate me more by walking into my room uninvited?! Get out, and do not bother coming back until you learn some manners! As a matter of fact, do not come back at all!" And if she sat down and cried and waited? "Insolent wench! Get out of the way! I was intending to walk out of my room but you ignorantly decide to plant yourself in front of the door?! I have never met such an imbecilic woman in my life! I never want to see you again!"

Every scenario she imagined ended with him saying that he didn't ever want to see her again. That prospect intimidated her enough to just walk away, and deciding that she was too chicken to face him, she turned around and left.

However, hearing his voice stopped her. It wasn't directed towards her though, and as she listened, she found that he was talking to Isao.

"Why are you choosing to return now?" Yoshiki asked. "Where have you been all this time? . . . Hawaii? Why were you in Hawaii? . . . You know father, anyone would find this entire thing humorous and ridiculous. I cannot believe you love Akira so much that you would fly her across the world to eat a _pineapple_. What does she have that mother doesn't? . . . No, that's preposterous, and how _dare _you even think about showing your face in this home again . . . Oh? A surprise? I'm not interested and neither is mother, so do not bother bringing this _surprise._"

Ayumi flinched as he ripped the phone away from his ear and let it fall onto the bed. She decided to leave again, and turned away from the door, but again she was stopped.

"I know you are out there," Yoshiki said, unintentionally making her heart stop. "If you have something you want to tell me, I suggest you do it right now."

She couldn't escape now. Swallowing down nervousness, Ayumi slowly opened the door and peered inside.

Meanwhile, Yoshiki was resisting the urge to just take her into his arms and forgive her. She looked like an abused animal attempting to watch its step around its abuser. Before he had been so pissed off at her that he couldn't even look at her. But after having time to calm down, plus the conversation with Reiji, had just made him want to see her and apologize so that she could be happy again. He knew that she was crying and that it was because of him, and he hated to know that. There was nothing more disheartening and depressing to know that she was not happy and that it was his fault.

But he couldn't give into her, no matter how pitiful she looked. After all, he wanted to hear her apology. He would apologize as well though (even though this wasn't really his fault) just to level the playing ground. Plus, he was sincerely sorry for having made her cry.

"Um . . ." Ayumi muttered.

"First of all, come into the room," Yoshiki said, speaking to her as if she was a child.

The door opened a bit more and Ayumi moved into the room, but refused to come any closer. "I'm sorry . . ."

"I can't hear you all the way over there."

Ayumi narrowed her eyes. "Yo-

"_DON'T_ even think about yelling again. You will just make this worse. You know how to talk in a normal tone of voice below 100 decibels. So do it."

She felt like crying again and before she could stop herself, she did. Bringing her hands to her eyes, she wiped the tears away but they continued to fall down her cheeks, refusing to stop. Her nose started to run as well and at this point she gave up trying to stop it and just let herself cry for probably the tenth time that day.

Sinking to the ground she just cried, unable to form words at the moment. She couldn't see Yoshiki because she had her hands over her eyes foolishly attempting to hide the fact that she was crying, and eventually after a few minutes of sitting by herself, he joined her and sat down beside her.

"Ayumi," he sighed, tapping her shoulder. "Come here."

Immediately she grabbed onto him, burying her face in his chest. She could feel him gently start to rub her back, trying to calm her down and after only a few minutes, her sobs eventually turned into light sniffles, accompanied by hiccups.

Yoshiki sighed. "Do you need to take a nap?"

Feeling her nod against him, he scooped her up and took her over to the bed and pried her off of himself. Almost immediately, Ayumi feel asleep, physically exhausted from how much crying she had done. Her hair fanned out behind her, and this was the first time that he had realized just how long it had gotten. He guessed that between school, Subaru, and coming home and cooking and cleaning, she had run out of time to get it trimmed.

_"Maybe I should hire a maid and butler?" _he thought to himself.

When she woke up he would ask her, but in the meantime, he found himself just looking at her as she slept.

"Woman, you have given me so much trouble and grief," he sighed. "But at the same time I cannot complain because you've given me more than I could have ever asked for."

He really didn't deserve her, but at the same time he did. What he truly deserved was a wife who he'd never talk to and that would bear him a child just to shut his father up. But at the same time he deserved Ayumi and her love _completely;_ because without her he wasn't sure what he'd do.

"Sorry . . ." Ayumi muttered, in her sleep. "Sorry . . . sorry . . . sorry . . ."

"I'm not even mad at you anymore dear."

She continued to sleep and just as he was about to get comfortable and stay with her, he heard some unpleasant voices coming from downstairs.

"Ayako! Good to see you!"

"Isao?! What are you doing here?!"


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Yoshiki was downstairs within seconds, and at first, was absolutely speechless.

"Dad!" Subaru yelled, rushing out of Ayako's arms and into his.

He was almost stunned to see Subaru, but then remembered that if Ayumi was here, of course Subaru would be here as well. Picking him up, he walked over to his father, and mother and surprisingly-

"Akira?" Yoshiki asked. "Hmm, what a surprise."

Akira rolled her eyes. "Yoshiki. It's been too long."

"Oh my!" Isao said, walking over to Yoshiki. Politely, he raised his hand towards Subaru. "And who might this be?"

"_Do not. _Touch my son," Yoshiki hissed, jerking away from Isao's outstretched hand.

"Oh! Could this be my grandson?"

"Absolutely not!" Ayako yelled. "You don't reserve the right to call him your grandson!"

Isao frowned. "Why not? Is this all because I left you?"

Yoshiki shook his head. "I could not care less that you left mother-she is better off without you. What I care about is you sending me off to America with a wife that I could not stand, and separating me from the one I loved."

Isao paled. "Wait, is this Ayumi's son?! She was pregnant?"

"Fool, who did you think he belonged to? Do you think I'd run off and have a child with another woman?"

_"Heh," _Subaru thought, amusedly. _"Never thought I'd hear him say the word 'fool'."_

"Don't refer to your father that way!" Akira yelled. "He has been nothing but kind!"

"Good," Yoshiki said. "I hope you are happy with him."

"I am!"

"Why are you here anyways?" Ayako asked.

"They said they had a 'surprise' for us," Yoshiki said. "What is the surprise?"

"Well . . ." Isao said, smiling. "It is official! Akira and I are getting married!"

Yoshiki raised a brow. "Oh? So you will take care of the divorce?"

"Take care of it? It has been finalized for a couple of years now!"

"What? You didn't get my consent. A divorce is not an uncomplicated matter. There are trials, post trials, appeals, and documents that you needed my signature on. How did you do it?"

"Consent?" Isao bellowed. "Did you not want the divorce?"

"Of course I wanted it."

"Then how I achieved it should not matter, but if you must know, I will enlighten you. About two years into yours and Akira's married life, she contacted me, and explained her dilemma. Naturally, I wanted to help her, and I began the divorce process. When it was finalized, she left you and came to me. I didn't need either of you to appear in court-who exactly to you think I am, Yoshiki? I can do whatever I want, without the help of anyone. You ought to know that by now."

Yoshiki narrowed his eyes. "Father, you have infringed on my rights. You-

"Wait, wait, wait!" Subaru yelled, halting the conversation. "_You _two are getting married?"

"Yes," Isao said.

"But you're old . . ."

"HAHAHA!" Ayako laughed. "Yes Subaru, this is precisely why it's weird."

"It's also why I am speechless," Yoshiki said, and then looked over at Akira. "You know he will die before you turn forty."

Akira rolled her eyes at this. "Whatever. Why do you care anyways? You never loved me."

"Aw, and it only took you six years to realize that."

"Ooh! Kill 'em!" Ayako said, and then quieted when everyone looked at her oddly. "What? Isn't that what the kids are saying nowadays?"

Isao merely sighed in disgust. "See Yoshiki? This is what you will be dealing with in ten years. Ayumi is just another Ayako."

"Well, it's a good thing that Yoshiki is not another Isao!" Ayako refuted.

"Oh please," Isao scoffed. "Yoshiki is more like me than he thinks."

"On the contrary, I have something that you will never achieve," Yoshiki said.

"Oh? What is that?"

"The love of my son."

"Good!" Isao said, switching moods immediately. "That is fine Yoshiki! I would not want your love anyways! You have always been a disrespectful, rude, uncaring son! I did so much for you, I gave you the life you have now, I have benefited you, and you do not appreciate it! You appreciate _nothing _I do for you! It is not my fault that you're just an ungrateful brat!"

"Sending me away to America for six years is not benefiting me in the least. You tore me away from the woman I loved; you are a monster."

"I was trying to _help _you, you insolent, impudent wretch!"

"Well, you did the exact opposite. You have a new wife though now-so why don't you try again?" Yoshiki offered.

"What are you speaking of? Try again?"

"Yes. Try having another child. Except this time, make sure your child does not grow up thinking that its simply a successor to your name. Treat it like a child instead of an heirloom and raise it like a parent instead of a dictator. Instead of telling it that its only purpose in this world is grow up and continue a family tradition, try telling it that it can be a doctor, or a lawyer, or even something as simple as a school teacher. In other words, do not fail your second child like you failed me. Even if you don't have enough sense to do this you will hopefully die of a heart attack before you make any real impact."

The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested Yoshiki's words. Even Subaru felt bad to know that Yoshiki's father had failed him, and he started to regret ever being mean to Yoshiki. Now that Subaru thought about it, even though it was clear that his father was rich, Yoshiki lived a very unloving and unpleasant childhood.

But he knew that his own childhood was going to be the opposite. Both Ayumi and Yoshiki loved him and wanted the best for him. They encouraged him, praised him, and would both die for him. He was lucky, and Subaru realized that he'd better start to act lucky as well. Not every kid would live a life like him. Yoshiki sure didn't, and though he turned out fine, Subaru couldn't imagine how hard it must have been.

"Akira," Isao sniffed in disgust. "Let's go. We are leaving at once."

"Ohhh wait!" Ayako said. "Where are our wedding invitations?"

"In hell!" Isao answered, slamming the door behind him and Akira.

Yoshiki and his mother exchanged a look before Yoshiki asked, "Where are your gardening club members?"

"Oh, they left some time ago," Ayako said. "By the way, what happened between you and Ayumi?"

"It was nothing. The problem resolved itself."

"I'm glad! And you know what? You three should spend the night!"

"No thank you, I would not want to impose."

"WHAT? Impose? You're my son, Yoshiki; I would be happy to let you stay!" Ayako yelled, excitedly. "Besides, I haven't spoken to Ayumi in years! I would love to catch up with her! And of course, learn about my grandson!"

"Alright," Yoshiki sighed. "I will call a driver to bring us clothes. Meanwhile, you can take care of Subaru."

Releasing Subaru, Yoshiki walked away and Subaru headed back over to Ayako.

"I don't think I want you to call me 'grandma,'" Ayako said. "That makes me feel _sooooo _old."

Subaru shrugged. "Okay. What should I call you?"

"I don't know. What do the kids think is cool today?"

". . . You realize that I'm five, right?"

"Ooh! Ooh! How about G-ma? No, no! Just G!"

"Just G?"

"Yeah, like the letter G!"

"Actually, I think grandma is a lot better than G."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Subaru smiled slyly. "Mmhmm . . . all the kids nowadays call their grandparents 'grandma' and 'grandpa'. I promise it's cool."

"Woo-hoo! Grandma it is!"

* * *

><p>Ayumi awoke slowly, her blurry eyes struggling to focus on her surroundings. When they finally did, she came to the realization that she was in Yoshiki's room. Briefly, she forgot why she was there, and then the memories flooded her mind and she quickly hopped onto her feet.<p>

"S-Subaru?!" she asked, looking around for her child. "Su?"

Running out of the room, she bolted downstairs to find him with Ayako and she raised her hand to her throbbing heart.

"Oh thank God you're okay," she sighed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Subaru asked.

"I just woke up and you weren't there and I got worried. But you're fine . . . where's your father?"

"He agreed to stay the night here!" Ayako said, happily. "A driver is bringing your things over here now! And the last time I saw Yoshiki he was upstairs."

"Oh, alright."

Ayumi turned away from them and walked back upstairs, curious as to where Yoshiki was. This time, she would properly apologize. She hadn't been able to do it before since she unfortunately cried herself to sleep, but this time, she would finally do it. She refused to let her emotions get the better of her!

But first, she had to find him. He wasn't in his room, and he wasn't in the bathroom, so she was wondering exactly where he could be. It was a big house, but there weren't many interesting rooms that people could just go into. The house mostly consisted of bedrooms, living rooms, and a ton of bathrooms. So where was he?

As she looked down the hall, she could see a room at the end with a light coming out of it, and figuring that was where he was, she tiptoed down the hall until she got to the room, and peered in.

"Just how shy are you going to continue being around me?" Yoshiki asked her, his back still turned to her.

How he was able to know she was there all the time, she didn't know, but Ayumi bravely stepped into the room, still silent as she gathered the courage to speak.

"Yoshiki . . ."

He turned to her. "Yes?"

"I-I-I . . . I'm sorry!"

"Ayumi, it's . . . are you crying again?"

She couldn't help it. She just felt so bad and so sorry for everything that she had said that she just wanted to cry over it. As she thought about it, she had said some pretty cruel things, even going as far as being glad that Subaru hated him, which she soon realized wasn't the case anymore.

Dropping to her knees, Ayumi pressed her forehead to the floor. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Yoshiki just chuckled at her, but nonetheless, appreciated her apology. He wasn't angry enough for her to have to kowtow to him, but at least he knew that she truly was sorry.

Walking over to her, he dropped to his knees as well and pulled her up to face him.

"You don't have to apologize anymore," he said. "I forgave you hours ago. All is well."

". . ."

Again her eyes filled with tears as she launched herself at him, crying onto his already tear stained shirt again.

"You are going to dehydrate yourself from crying so much," Yoshiki said, petting her hair softly.

"Why are you so forgiving?" she sniffled. "When I'm such an idiot?"

"This was partly my fault too. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, nor should I have _thrown _your wedding ring at you. And I would never say something like this; but that was a dick move."

Ayumi giggled. "That sounded funny."

"I knew it would."

Pulling her face away from his chest, she lifted her left hand. "I'm wearing the ring anyways."

A blush came over her face when he gently grabbed her hand in his own and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"I'm glad . . ." he whispered, before leaning down and placing a kiss on her cheek. "And I'm glad you've stopped crying as well. I don't ever want to see you cry again, my love."

_"My ovaries!" _Ayumi thought, her face turning redder and redder by the second. "Yoshiki . . ."

"Yes?" he asked, peering down at her tear streaked, cherubic face. He knew exactly what she was going to ask him by how red her cheeks was turning, and it made his heart throb in anticipation. So badly did he want her to vocalize her wanting for him and just as she was about to-

"Mom," Subaru said, walking into the room. "Grandma wants to talk to you."

"Oh ok!" Ayumi answered, standing up and leaving. "I really need to talk to her anyways! I have barely spoken a word to her this whole time!"

Subaru was just about to follow her out when he turned to look back at Yoshiki who was just sitting on the floor with a stunned look on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" Subaru asked, completely oblivious to the moment he had just ruined. "Psh, whatever. Weirdo."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

"And I'm taking a lot of classes with Ayumi!"

"Oh really?" Ayako asked. "That's nice! What are you two taking?"

"Well," Reiji said. "We're doing classes in art, economics . . . uh, I think Ayumi picked up a course in music, right?"

"Oh that reminds me!" Ayumi gasped. "I need a piano!"

_"Why doesn't your boyfriend buy it for you?" _Yoshiki thought, bitterly.

He was so confused as to why Ayumi thought it was appropriate to bring her friend to _his _mother's house; and just like he suspected, Reiji had stolen all of Ayumi's attention away from him. Technically, it wasn't really Ayumi's fault for Reiji being there though-it had actually been more of his mothers.

Reiji had called Ayumi to ask her something about school, and she mentioned that she couldn't explain it over the phone and that she'd have to tell him later. This is when Ayako ran over and told Reiji just to go ahead and come over because she was interested in meeting someone that Ayumi was friends with.

And thus, Reiji had showed up, leaving Yoshiki to angrily stand at the top of the staircase and watch them all converse happily. Honestly, if he wanted to, he could join them in conversation, but there was no way in hell his pride would ever let him. Yes, he had gone to Reiji to ask for assistance on what to do about the fight with Ayumi, but he didn't intend to see him _again. _Especially in the home he grew up in. Did this mean that he would never get rid of Reiji? Yoshiki understood that Reiji was Ayumi's best friend, lived with her for six years, and took care of his son for five, but his responsibilities had ended.

It was _his _turn to care for his family-Reiji was completely unneeded anymore. Why couldn't he just go away? Was this punishment for being separated from Ayumi for six years? It's not like he meant to be separated from her anyways; he couldn't control what his father did to him at the time. It wasn't fair!

_"Why am I constantly being punished for things that happened out of my control?" _he thought.

Sighing to himself, he returned back downstairs and planted himself neatly on the couch and couldn't help but take notice at how Reiji was sitting on the couch as if this were _his _home.

"Commoners," Yoshiki muttered under his breath. "All of them are ignorant."

To his surprise, Subaru moved to sit beside him and he smiled appreciatively.

"At least someone will pay attention to me."

Subaru shrugged. "You looked lonely."

"I wasn't."

"Don't lie! You looked like you were going to cry."

Yoshiki snorted. "I would never cry over _Reiji_."

"Don't worry. He's not staying the night."

"If Ayumi invited him to stay the night just _after _we got over a fight . . ."

Subaru frowned. "What would happen?"

". . . I would just leave."

"Aw, don't be upset. I promise Mom really likes you. She used to cry over you a lot, and I couldn't do anything except sit and watch her. That's why I hated you so much at first," Subaru admitted.

Yoshiki smiled. "Well, just know-

"And when we got there, get this: the tennis courts were FULL!" Reiji yelled, sending Ayumi and Ayako into a fit of laughter.

"If only I could make her laugh like that," Yoshiki muttered. "I bet she'd like me more."

"Yeah, you're kind of boring."

"Thanks . . ."

"But it's a good boring! Reiji is too loud and after a while he gets annoying."

Yoshiki was about to chuckle at this, but another more somber thought entered his head that made him go quiet. What if Ayumi and Reiji had something together? What if they had a short term relationship? Of course, he knew Reiji _said _he was gay, but Reiji _did_ admit that he thought Ayumi was cute. Even if they did have something together, he couldn't do anything about it now, but still the thought repulsed him. And he wanted to know. He'd never ask Subaru about something like this since he was only a child, but if he didn't at least discreetly bring it up to Ayumi, he'd never have peace.

It was pathetic that this was bothering him so bad, but he couldn't help it. The thoughts wouldn't leave his mind. Not only that, but it was impossible to question her because of Reiji's loud and incessant talking.

Was this a sign that he should just let it go? They weren't teenagers anymore-so was it superfluous to keep arguing about little, insignificant matters? Then again, it wasn't really an argument, but a simple question. However, was his insecurity really necessary after everything that had just happened?

_"This is hard . . ." _Yoshiki thought to himself. _"Do I have the right to be concerned, or am I just being annoying?"_

"Excuse me," Yoshiki said to Subaru, and proceeded to come to a stand.

"Aw, where are you going?" Subaru asked.

"I think I will go have a bath and go to bed."

"Ugh, but now I'm alone."

Yoshiki frowned. "I know. You are welcome to sit with Ayako for the time being, or go watch T.V. in another room."

"Yeah, yeah, just go bathe. I'll be fine."

* * *

><p>"Well, thank you for having me," Reiji said, as he stood and bowed respectfully to Ayako.<p>

"We'll have to do this again sometime! I wish it could have lasted longer." Ayako said happily. "But I know you have school."

Ayumi yawned. "Yeah, he and I both."

"Looks like Su passed out," Reiji giggled as Subaru slept peacefully on Ayumi's lap, his breathing even and deep, indicating he was truly asleep.

"I can take him upstairs and put him to bed," Ayako offered.

"Okay," Ayumi said, handing him gently to her.

After Ayako began heading upstairs, Ayumi prepared to say goodbye to Reiji when he stopped her.

"So, how are things between you and him?"

Ayumi raised a brow. "What do you mean? Do . . . you know?"

"Haha yeah! He came over and asked me what to do."

"Oh . . . he did?"

"Mmhmm. I told him that he needed to work through his own demons and that you weren't the only one at fault. The fact that you guys have seemed to be okay now must mean that he took my advice."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, he's a high and mighty asshole who puts himself above everyone, but-

"No!" Ayumi said, shaking her head. "Sure he's high and mighty, but he does _not _put himself above everyone! In fact, he does the opposite! I've known him for almost seven years and he's always thought about me first! All he wants to do is take care of me and support me and make sure I'm happy, so _don't _say that he puts himself above people, because he doesn't!"

Reiji was silent for a few moments before smiling softly. "Yeah . . . he said something like that back at the house."

"And?!"

"And I yelled at him for it."

"UGH REIJI!"

"Go talk to him then girl! Damn! Don't stand here yelling at me!" Reiji said, before flipping his hair.

"You're such a girl!" Ayumi scoffed.

"What can I say? I'm a bad bitch at heart," Reiji declared. "Alright, I'm leaving now, and if that driver's not outside waiting for me, I will be right back up in here."

Making sure to see him out, Ayumi shut the door softly and began to head back upstairs. She hadn't known that Yoshiki went to see Reiji during their fight, and she was curious as to what they talked about. First of all, she was sure that some things were said that she probably didn't agree on, and she wanted to set the record straight. She didn't want Yoshiki to treat her any differently than he had been, and though he hadn't yet, she wanted to make sure.

In addition to wanting to do this, she also wanted to see him. She hadn't talked to him once after they went downstairs and Reiji arrived, and she knew she should have. When she didn't pay attention to him, he got agitated and upset, and she knew this. Besides, at this point she wanted to pay attention to him. In fact, she wanted to give all of her attention to him.

The fight had left her trembling in fear, but relieved at the same time. She was relieved because he had forgiven her yet again and overlooked her annoying attitude, but she was also scared because, what if this was the last time? What if they fought again and next time he just walked out on her? Of course, he'd still be there for Subaru, but she didn't want him to leave her . . .

There was no one else on this earth that would put up with her attitude, so she knew she had to keep the one person that would close to her. He had already left her once, and though she got over it, after being with him again and realizing just how important he was to her, she didn't know if she could handle it if he disappeared a second time. And if he _did _leave again, she knew it would be all her fault and she wouldn't be able to bear that weight on her shoulders for the rest of her life.

How awful would it be to know that she drove the one person that loved her away because of her big mouth . . .?

But she wouldn't drive him away. As far as Ayumi was concerned, she wasn't _ever _going to have a fight as bad as this one with him ever again!

A/N: Okay Ayumi, we'll see how long that lasts XD


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

Yoshiki was sitting calmly in the large bath, the water level resting just below his nose. Growing up he had never complained about taking a bath, since as a kid, getting in the tub was like getting in a pool. Granted, now that he was an adult towering over six feet the tub wasn't that big anymore, however it was still big enough to fit two or three people. He could very briefly remember years and years ago when Ayako would join him in the bath and he'd scream at her to get out and leave him in peace. However she insisted on getting in with him every now and then, and when he turned twelve he told her he'd kill her if saw her walking into the bathroom intending on taking a bath with him.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and he rose slightly above the water to say, "Come in."

The speed at which the door opened immediately let him know that it was Ayumi and instead of waiting for her, he simply closed his eyes and chose to relax again. Honestly, at the moment he had no interest in talking to her. It wasn't as if he was still angry with her or anything, but he wanted to sleep before he engaged in conversation with her. It had been a long day and he was mentally exhausted over everything that had happened. He didn't know if he could function seriously with her right now-not until he got some undisturbed, real sleep, which he hadn't had in quite some time.

"Yoshiki . . .?" Ayumi said, trying to get his attention.

". . . What is it?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No."

"Then why won't you look at me?"

He sighed before opening his eyes. "What is so important that-

Immediately he stopped talking when he realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes. Instantly several thoughts about what to do about the situation ran through his head, but he stayed in the water, unable to move.

"Um . . ." Ayumi mumbled, trying to build confidence. The blood had already consumed her cheeks and the tips of her ears, and was now making its way down her chest. Her heart was beating unnecessarily hard against her rib cage and she could hear it thrumming steadily in her ears. Swallowing down nervousness, she continued. "Can I get in . . .?"

"Y-

"Uh-uh, if you don't want to-uh, it's fine! I'll uh-just-let you take your bath alone! I-I-I HAVE TO GO!"

"Ayumi, wait!" Yoshiki said, trying not to laugh and scare her even more. "Yes, you may join me."

Nodding, she slowly made her way over to him and climbed into the hot water. It wasn't this difficult getting in the Jacuzzi with him, however as she thought back to it, it had all happened so fast and there was no time to get nervous. But having to stand before him naked and ask him to get in the water with him gave her time to feel agitated, and it didn't help the way his eyes roamed up and down her body, stopping on her most intimate areas.

Meanwhile, Yoshiki just stared at her, waiting for her to do something. He had no idea what she was here for, but like always, he supposed he was going to have to make the first move.

"Ayu-

"CAN I HAVE A HUG?!" she blurted out, before covering her mouth in shock.

"Of course. You do not have to ask me for a hug . . ."

Flying over to him, Ayumi curled into his chest and sighed lovingly as his arms wrapped around her. For a few moments she didn't move, remaining still and relishing in his warmth. It had been so long since she had had a genuine hug from him, and it felt so nice. The thought of just staying like this forever crossed her mind, but she knew she needed to say something; they needed to talk. She refused to let another opportunity like this slip away, and taking a deep breath, she pushed away from him, her nerves finally beginning to settle and fade away.

"I need to talk to you," she declared. "But I will be doing the talking."

"Alright."

Nodding in confirmation, Ayumi moved back until her back met the other side of the tub and she pawed at the water in front of her. "Come lay back against me."

Abiding to her request, Yoshiki did as he was told and lied back against her, and to his approval she began to run her fingers gently through his hair. He couldn't remember the last time she had played with his hair, but he knew he missed it. If she would have continued without speaking for only a few more moments he could have easily fallen asleep on her. The feeling of her fingers scraping gently over his scalp, combined with the cushion of her breasts, _and _the heat of the water, just felt like absolute paradise . . .

"I haven't been paying you any attention lately," Ayumi said. "And I'm sorry for that, and I'm really sorry for fighting with you too. I know you forgave me for that, but I still want to apologize since I shouldn't have been so bratty."

" . . ."

"I'm not ever going to fight with you again, and if you ever find yourself in a situation like that, just threaten to leave me. I know it has to be really annoying to deal with someone who's your polar opposite, but I want to be with you forever, and I'm going to try harder from now on."

". . ."

"But I want to know one thing: what did you and Reiji talk about when you went over there?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself over."

"No, tell me! I need to know if he poisoned your mind!"

Yoshiki chuckled. "Actually, I think he remedied it."

"Why? What did he tell you? What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you did not need to worry about your schooling, or even working because I would always take care of you. He told me that just because you are a woman did not mean that you merely wanted to be a simple housewife all your life."

"Oh . . ." Ayumi muttered, thoughtfully. "Well, it's true, I _don't _want to be a housewife and I _do _want to go to school. But, I don't get it. He knows you would never force me to do anything I didn't want to."

"True."

"So he shouldn't be that concerned!"

". . ."

"But I'm glad you want to take care of me," Ayumi cooed, leaning down and pressing her lips against his forehead. "You are very protective and I love that about you."

"I think you mean possessive."

"Yes, that too. But as long as I can possess you as well, I'm okay with that."

"You have possessed me ever since the moment you first caught my eye," he explained.

"Yeah right!" Ayumi laughed. "I can remember all those years ago when we were in high school and you said I was a 5.5! That made me cry, ya know!"

"I said you had the potential to be a 6 as well. Then I added that with make-up, you could possibly be a 7."

"You could have had any girl you wanted. Why me?"

Yoshiki smiled. "I was just testing the waters."

"What does that mean?"

"I was lying to you, _Miss. Shinozaki_."

"Ugh, why did you always call me that?"

"Perhaps I knew that you would soon become Mrs. Kishinuma."

Ayumi blushed. "Oh, so you were lying to me about being a 5.5 then, huh?"

"Yes."

"So, just how pretty am I?"

"Hmm . . . negative 12."

"WHAT?!"

"I am just teasing you my love, for there is no number to describe your impeccable beauty."

"Awwww! Thank you . . . Say, do you remember Kei?"

"Tch."

She laughed. "Ooh, I've never heard you make _that _noise."

"I hate him. Do not speak of him."

"Why do you hate him? He never had a chance with me anyways."

Yoshiki paused, thinking about her last statement for a moment, before continuing. "I thought you had feelings for him."

"Really? What made you think that?"

"At first, during the countless times you went on dates with him, I figured you were just doing so to make me jealous-which worked. Then after you referred to our sensual classroom excursion as a mistake when we were caught, I figured you were truly remorseful for what you had done."

"Well, I _was _remorseful. I didn't want to hurt Kei's feelings!"

"Why not?"

"W-well he didn't ask to fall into our love triangle! He didn't deserve to be hurt because of it!"

"He should have known better than to try to take what was mine."

Ayumi paled. "You know, they say that words like that are a sign that you should get out of a relationship . . . but I've invested too much into this to ever leave you."

"If you ever did leave me, your life would be much more miserable. After the police found out what you did to me via my suicide note, you would be incarcerated for the rest of your life."

"Oh God . . ."

"It's 'Yoshiki'."

"UGH! I KNOW YOUR NAME, IDIOT!" Ayumi yelled and then sighed. "Anyways, while we're reminiscing, do you remember that time you tried to commit suicide over a piece of peanut butter pie?"

"It was for a good reason. _He _dared to kiss you. Unacceptable."

"If you would have died, I probably would have ended up with him."

"It's highly unlikely because I would have haunted you."

Ayumi narrowed her eyes. "Whatever. I would have enjoyed that."

"Of course you would have my little masochist."

"Ugh, why are you bringing up all the things you used to tease me about?!"

"There is nothing wrong with being a masochist. In fact, I was quite thrilled when I found out you were one."

"You're so weird!"

"I know."

"But . . . I guess I wouldn't mind letting you do weird things to me if you wanted to . . ."

"Can it begin here in this bathtub?"

She blushed again. "But . . . Subaru's here."

"We will just have to hope he does not hear you, or else you will have some explaining to do."

"W-what?! No! _You'll _have some explaining to do! You'll have to explain to me why it sounded like you were hurting me!"

"I will tell him you asked me to."

"No! Okay! I changed my mind!" Ayumi yelled, clinging to him as he picked her up and tried to set her on the edge of the bathtub. "Wait! Wait!"

"It's too late," he whispered, huskily, looking up at her from in between her thighs.

Feeling the uncomfortable longing start to build between her legs, Ayumi realized that it truly was too late. There was no way she'd be able to resist him now.

"O-okay . . ." she muttered, unable to feel the coolness of the air due to how hot her body was. "J-just don't do anything too freaky, okay? I'm . . . new to this."

He chuckled and leaned up towards her face and pressed his lips against hers. "You are so cute . . ."

"Shut up . . ."

"I love you."

"I love you too . . . weirdo."

A/N: Ahhhh reminiscing about old times in the tub . . . what a good way to end the story. Yes, technically, it's over! But don't fret-there will be one last chapter after this one that you WON'T want to miss! So stay tuned! I will try to get it up as soon as possible (maybe tomorrow hopefully). Thank you guys so much for reading! :D


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTABLE OWNERS!

Father

_**Months later . . . **_

"Whoa . . ." Ayumi said, her hands digging into coarse brown fur of the bear. "So awesome!"

"I am not okay with this," Yoshiki muttered, watching Ayumi's interaction with the bear carefully.

"I promise it's completely fine," the zoo keeper said, giving Yoshiki a reassuring smile. "Well . . . it's ninety-eight percent fine. We've had this bear since he was a cub and he's only displayed any aggressiveness in times when he was severely provoked. He has never swiped at, or intended to hurt anyone who's being gentle with him. Your fiancé is doing a fine job of handling him."

"WHOA! I'M RIDING HIM!" Ayumi shouted. "LOOK! LOOK! HE'S JUST WALKING AROUND LIKE IT'S COMPLETELY OKAY!"

"Oh dear . . ." the zoo keeper said. "Ayumi, please lower your voice. It's quite risky to yell around the bear. And you aren't supposed to ride on its back either, it's very-

"Get off," Yoshiki ordered. "Now."

"But, he likes it," Ayumi said, lightly kicking at the bear's side. "I think he likes me!"

"A bear does not 'like' people," Yoshiki said. "He is simply tolerating you, and when he grows tired of you being on his back, he will throw you off and attack you. So get off _now_."

"No, no wait," the zoo keeper muttered. "This is very strange. The bear is being very calm. I have never seen him display such a serene look before."

Yoshiki just shook his head. "I don't care. That's enough Ayumi. Come out now."

Ayumi frowned, but nodded anyways and climbed off of the bear. "Okay. Bye, bye buddy. I'll come back and see you soon!"

As she turned and began to walk away however, the bear began to follow her, and didn't stop until they were at the gate and Ayumi was attempting to leave. Placing her hand on handle to push it open, the bear remained close attempting to leave with her as if she was its owner.

The zoo keeper gasped and began to write something down on a clip board that he was holding. "How strange. It seemed as though the bear has created an attachment in just this short amount of time. This must be documented immediately and I'll have to alert the other zoo keepers at once!"

"He doesn't want to let me go!" Ayumi said, continuing to pet the bear.

"Can I ask you to make a return in a month or so?" the zoo keeper asked. "This behavior truly is uncalled for."

"Yes," Yoshiki answered and then turned towards Ayumi. "But I would really prefer you to stay off of his back."

"Okay," Ayumi said, lying straight to his face. "I will!"

After a lengthy parting, Ayumi left the bear and followed Yoshiki out of the enclosed area and back towards the car. As they passed by the hundreds of other zoo-goers, they could feel the curious stares on them and Ayumi answered their curiousness by shouting, "I got to ride a bear! I got to ride a bear!"

"Did you have fun?" Yoshiki asked.

"Mmhmm!"

"Good. I went through a lot of trouble to organize that."

"Really?"

"Yes. I signed so many papers I think I permanently paralyzed parts of my hand."

"Haha! Well, I'm glad you did because that was the best pre-proposal gift I could have ever gotten."

Yoshiki chuckled. "You are hell bent on thinking I am going to ask you to marry me today, hmm?"

"I know it's going to happen!" Ayumi said, adamantly. "Why else would you have taken me out to meet a bear?"

Yoshiki shrugged, staying silent. Of course, there was no use in hiding it. It was obvious he was going to propose to her and he really had no business telling her he would since she already knew. Interacting with a bear had been at the top of her priority list, but now he was at a loss at what else to do for her. Ayumi was so simple and so lacking in elegant and grand taste that doing something over the top for her was unlikely to be truly appreciated. He had a feeling she would much rather prefer a something simple . . . but what exactly was _simple_? What did regular people like to do?

"Do you have something else you would like to do?" he asked, bluntly.

"Hmm, not really. I just wanted to meet the bear."

He sighed and at that, Ayumi turned to him and reached up to ruffle his hair.

"I'm glad you're trying to make this special for me," she said, a smile encapsulating her face. "But I don't want anything crazy ya know. Let's go to something simple!"

". . ."

"Let me think . . ." Ayumi said, stopping to momentarily think. "How about we . . . go take a walk together!"

"_A walk?" _he thought to himself. _"Just a walk?"_

"Okay," he agreed, following her out of the zoo and onto the streets.

Normally he was happy with just taking a walk with her, however he wasn't upset or anything. No, he was satisfied doing anything with her, but he was trying to _propose. _This was supposed to be special. Of course, if he were smart he would have planned something out, but having her meet the bear _was _his plan. He couldn't think of anything else beyond that and it infuriated him.

He shouldn't be so angry though. _She _was undoubtedly happy, and that's all that mattered really.

"After this walk, would you like to go out and get dessert?" he asked.

Ayumi nodded. "Okay! And if you _ever _decide to ask me to marry you, maybe we can consummate it at a looovveeeeee hotel."

"Ew."

"Hey," Ayumi whined, poking her bottom lip out. "Why is it gross?"

Yoshiki smiled. "Can you not detect sarcasm?"

"It's hard when your voice is always so monotone!"

"Sorry."

"Yeah, ya should be! And speaking of being sorry, when are you going to cut your sorry excuse for a hairdo?"

"Beg your pardon?" Yoshiki asked. "What is wrong with my hair?"

"It's gotten long. Who are you trying to be sexy for?"

"Oh? You think it's sexy?"

"Hmmph! I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," he said, wrapping his hair around and pulling her to him. "If you think it looks good just say so."

"Nooooo."

"Admit it."

"Never!"

At her refusal he began planting kisses on her face and she attempted to swat him away, giggling in between her weak slaps. "Hehe stop it, stop it! People are looking."

"So?"

"Yoshikiiii!"

Eventually they just resorted to a fully blown make-session in the middle of the street; completely oblivious to the disgusted stares they were being given. Both of them knew that they were causing traffic in the streets as well, but they didn't care in the slightest.

"I love you," she mumbled between kisses.

"I love you too."

"But we really need to stop. People are looking."

"Let them."

"No way!" Ayumi said, pulling away from him and commencing their walk again. "I don't want another repeat of what happened at the office!"

Yoshiki smiled. "But you fired him."

"It doesn't matter! He still saw it and it was absolutely mortifying!"

"No it wasn't. It was kinky."

". . ."

"What is this?"Yoshiki asked. "_You _are speechless? What a surprise."

Ayumi scoffed. "Not speechless. Just shocked."

"At?"

"Your boldness."

"I think you are confusing it with my undying love I have for you."

She blushed. "Shut up . . ."

". . ."

"I didn't mean to shut up literally. Can't you detect sarcasm?"

"There is no such thing as sarcasm when I follow the orders of my Queen," he explained, dropping to his knees and grabbing her hand. "Your wish is my command."

Her blush intensifying, Ayumi desperately tried to rip her hand out of his grasp. "Y- Yoshiki! People are looking . . ."

"And?"

"Ugh, you don't have any shame!"

"Not when it comes to my Queen."

Seeing all of the stares she was getting, Ayumi sighed loudly and allowed her arm to go slack in his iron grip. "Maybe we need to rethink this marriage thing."

"You could be right," Yoshiki said, finally coming to a stand. "A knight and his lady can't get married."

"Awwww," Ayumi whined. "Then where is my King?"

"As your gallant knight, I will find you one."

"Really? But I love you, so how would this work out?"

Yoshiki looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, at night I will have to sneak into the castle. From there I will make my way up to my Queen's living quarters, this is after of course you have told your King that you will be rooming separately from him for personal reasons. And every night as the room is illuminated by the moonlight I will make love to my lady and before the King awakens I will sneak back out and return to my day time position as his faithful retainer."

"I don't like this," Ayumi giggled.

"Oh. Well if that is the case, _we_ will just get married."

She gasped in happiness. "Oh my-

"I did not ask you yet," he explained. "Don't get excited."

"Ughhh . . ."

"Don't be upset my love. Just be patient."

"I've been waiting for_ever_ . . ."

"And because you love me, you will wait an eternity."

". . . You're being mean."

He chuckled. "Well then, how about I treat you to the dessert I promised you?"

"Okay!" she said, immediately perking up. "Cookies!"

". . . Do you know of a restaurant that specializes in cookies?"

"Hmm nope. We can just go to the store and get some though."

"No," he said, grabbing her hand. "We need to go somewhere expensive so I can feel somewhat successful about this day."

Ayumi smiled, warmth filling her heart. It was just too cute that he was trying so hard to make her day special, and the amount of love she was feeling was enough to make her cry. However, she wouldn't . . . not until he asked her to marry him. _Then_ she would cry her eyes out and cling to him as he held her and whispered sweet things into her ear. And after that he would whisk her away to a love hotel and make love to her all night long, officially consummating their marriage.

Only, it didn't really happen like that.

* * *

><p>Ayumi was quickly ushered into a restaurant and she was seated so fast that she didn't even have any time to enjoy the beautiful décor. She was quite impressed, and hadn't remembered being in a restaurant this nice in years. It made her quietly reminisce about her teenage years with Yoshiki, and as she thought about it, she gasped at just how long ago that was.<p>

"I'm getting old . . ." she muttered to herself.

"Hmm?" Yoshiki asked.

"Oh nothing! I was just thinking. This place is really . . . fancy."

"Is it to your liking?"

"Y-

"If it is not we will leave immediately."

"No, no!" she insisted. "It's great! I love it! But, I feel so out of place."

"Why?"

"Well . . ." she mumbled. "Everyone here is so tall and lean and all of the women have their hair done up and they're wearing makeup and pretty dresses and . . . well, you get the point. I don't belong somewhere like this. "

"Of course you do," he assured her. "If you need assurance, you should talk to my mother."

"Really?"

"Yes. She married into this life just like you did. Although it was arranged and she came from a slightly more prosperous life than you did, she was nowhere near as prestigious as my father. However, if you were to bring her to a restaurant like this, you would never know she had come from a different background. She has got quite excellent table manners when she wants to use them, and she is far more intelligent than she seems."

Ayumi nodded. "I know she is."

"When we went through that period of separation, she would not stop talking about how she knew for a fact that you and I were 'destined' to be together. She predicted it would happen, and it did."

"She didn't predict it," Ayumi explained. "She _knew _it. A mother knows."

" . . . Where is your mother?"

"Well, that was out of the blue."

"I know but . . . don't you think Subaru should meet your parents?" he asked. "Of course, I was not here for five years so I wouldn't know, but have you introduced him to them?"

Ayumi sighed deeply. "Well, to tell you the truth, when I got pregnant I kind of had to go out on my own. They didn't really want anything to do with me. You being out of the picture just made it worse, and it's weird because you would _think _that they would want to help me more, but nope."

"They kicked you out?"

"Not really. They just kind of neglected me, so _I _left. And they've never met Subaru . . ."

Yoshiki sighed miserably. "Great. He has _one _grandparent."

"Ayako is more than enough!" Ayumi insisted. "It was so nice of her to watch him for today too."

"She would keep him for a year if need be-she truly loves him."

"Well, she missed out on the first five years of his life just like you did," Ayumi said, picking up a menu. "She wants to compensate for all of that lost time. You know, I was a true idiot for never going to her while I was pregnant."

"Why didn't you?"

"I guess I was just overwhelmed and scared. Plus, I didn't want to have a run in with your father."

"No . . ." Yoshiki muttered. "That man is _not _my father. I refuse to even think of him as such."

"Yeah, but-

"Can I take your order?" a waiter asked, walking up.

Ayumi completely digressed from her heartfelt conversation with Yoshiki and resumed her usual demeanor. "Well, I was looking over the menu and found that you don't even have _one _cookie! What kind of restaurant doesn't serve a cookie of some sort for dessert?!"

"I-I'm terribly sorry," the waiter muttered. "We specialize in pie . . ."

"I'm not saying you have to specialize in cookies! I'm just confused as to why you wouldn't just offer a simple chocolate chip cookie! What if a little kid wants one?! What are you going to do then?"

"Well-

"You do pies right?!" Ayumi asked, flinging her useless menu towards the waiter. "Just bring out a piece of your specialty ones!"

Taking the menu, the waiter looked towards Yoshiki for help.

"Is anything fine?" the waiter asked him.

"I don't like cheesecake, so don't even think about bringing me _that_," Ayumi decalared. "Now go away! We were having a conversation!"

The waiter scurried away, leaving Yoshiki and Ayumi alone.

"But yeah . . ." she said, sadly, going back to her depressed mood as if the waiter had never been there. "I can understand why you feel like that. I didn't want him to hate me, but he did."

Yoshiki chuckled at her flippant attitude. "Yes, well, he claims he wanted the 'best' for me, and he didn't think that you quite suited the position."

"I don't honestly."

"You are right. You're better than the best."

Ayumi beamed. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Reeeeaaaallllyyy?"

"Yessssss."

"Well, I'm glad," Ayumi said. "You're the only one who has told me I'm the best in a long time . . ."

". . ."

"My sister tells me I'm the worse, believe it or not. She hates me just like my parents do."

"Really?" Yoshiki asked, with genuine surprise in his tone. "I did not figure she would hate you as well."

"She does. She doesn't really want anything to do with me that I know of, however, she does want to see Subaru."

"And have you let her?"

"No . . . but am I making the wrong choice? He has hardly any family. It's just me, you, and Ayako."

"What about Reiji?"

"I know Reiji will always be there, but he's not a true family member. Should I let Hinoe see him and allow her to be an aunt?"

Yoshiki shrugged. "If you are truly concerned about him lacking family members, maybe you should consider it."

"Maybe . . ."

"_Or _we can just give him a few more brothers and sisters."

Ayumi blushed. "Really? Wow . . . more children?"

"Why not?"

She remained silent for a moment considering the option. Truthfully, she hadn't even thought about having another child ever since Subaru was born. She had been so consumed with school that the thought seemed too out of reach. But they couldn't possibly have another child while she was still in school right? Then again, she was almost twenty-four years old; if they wanted another child, didn't they need to have one now? There was no time to lose. However, if she _did _happen to get pregnant while having all of these doubts, she knew it would just be best to drop out of school, although she really didn't want to do that.

As she was lost in her thoughts, the pie was set on the table before them along with two forks and all thoughts of having another child were abandoned as her eyes locked onto the dessert.

"Yes!" she squealed, grabbing a fork and digging into the pie. "Ohhh it's so good."

Yoshiki also took a bite of it and scoffed. "I've had better."

"Shut up," Ayumi snorted. "But, yeah, having another child . . ."

"Have you come to a decision?"

She looked pensive before allowing a sly smile to grace her face. "Hmm. No, we will _not _have another child."

" . . ."

"Because you _won't ask me to marry you_!" she said. "I'm not having another child with you until we're married, so you may as well ask! RIGHT NOW!"

He smiled as she crossed her arms in defiance.

"Okay," Yoshiki said. "You win. I will ask you."

"Yay!"

He reached across the table and grabbed her hands making her heart race with anticipation. She could feel her mouth get dry as excitement overtook her as she waited for the words she had been waiting to hear for almost seven years. In mere moments she would be in his arms shouting "Yes! Yes!" whilst every other snobby rich person in the restaurant turned to look at her. Then she would hold her ring up and announce that she was officially engaged. And of _course _the light from the chandelier would hit her diamond ring and shine in everyone's eyes, blinding them as punishment for being rich and uptight! It would be the perfect pre-ending to the perfect night! Because after he proposed, the night _certainly _wouldn't end _there._

_"It's finally happening!" _she thought to herself, pushing her perverted thoughts out of mind momentarily. It was time to focus, and she took deep breaths, readying her eyes to explode with tears.

"Ayumi Shinozaki . . ."

"Yessssss?"

Yoshiki smiled at her anticipation. "Will you . . ."

However, he paused mid-sentence and Ayumi recognized the all too familiar "blush" that seemed to explode over his cheeks and spread down his neck at a rapid pace. It was practically a repeat of what had happened all those years ago, except this time, it was worse. _Much _worse. And that was because they had been _so _close!

"No . . ." she muttered in fear, gripping his hands harder. "Finish your sentence! FINISH IT! I DEMAND YOU ASK ME TO MARRY YOU YOSHIKI!"

Her answer was him falling out of his chair and alerting everyone in the restaurant. The noise level lessened significantly as people stared in shock at what was happening, and within seconds waiters and waitresses were at the scene of the crime desperately trying to nurse Yoshiki back to health.

"Stay calm ma'am!" one of the waitresses told her, joining Ayumi's side in the frenzy. "The ambulance will be arriving shortly!"

"I _am_ calm . . ." Ayumi said darkly.

"It'll be alright! When he gets to the hospital they will be able to-

"Peanuts . . ."

"What?"

Ayumi narrowed her eyes in anger as she spotted her waiter standing off to the side dumbly staring at the situation.

"YOU!" she yelled, pointing her perfectly manicured nail at him. "YOU WERE THE ONE THAT BROUGHT US THE PIE WITH PEANUTS IN IT! YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN HE WAS ALLERGIC! YOU RUINED MY PROPOSAL!"

"What?" the waiter asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"AHHHHH!"

"GET BACK HERE AND ACCEPT YOUR FATE!"

* * *

><p>Yoshiki awoke groggily and quickly sat up in the hospital bed. The quick motion sent a bout of dizziness over him, but as quickly as it came, it passed and left him feeling completely fine. Just as he was about to throw the covers off of himself, he felt a cool hand against his forehead.<p>

"There's no need to rush out of here."

He tilted his head back to see Ayumi resting behind him and he willingly gave up all attempts of trying to leave and lied back against her.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Literally about five minutes. The doctor _just _left. You had an allergic reaction to peanuts and your throat swelled shut before they could get you a shot. Luckily they administered it to you before any permanent damage happened. We're going to be carrying an epinephrine injector from now so this doesn't happen again. Doctor's orders."

"Oh."

She sighed. "Yeah . . . he said you can stay overnight if you want. Or we can just leave."

"Hmm."

"So . . . I think-

"I think we should stay the night," he offered, snuggling into her. "It may not be a love hotel, but it suits me."

"But-

"Goodnight."

Ayumi just sat there in shock a million thoughts running through her head about how her day was practically ruined. As much as she wanted to though, she couldn't call this day a failure. Sure it had gone a bit astray, but having Yoshiki there with her was enough. And at least he wasn't dead-allergic reactions to things _kill _people, so she should be appreciative. Plus, there was always tomorrow when he'd ask her to marry him, so she refused to harp on it.

But . . . perhaps in all actuality, he was actually hesitant on getting married because of what had happened between him and Akira. What if he was completely put off of the idea of marriage? Of course, if he was, he wouldn't have gotten engaged to her right? He _did _say they were going to get married, right? Yes, she was pretty sure she had heard him say it! For God's sakes, he was about to ask her in the restaurant!

But what if he had changed his mind? People changed their minds all the time, and maybe he just decided that he didn't want to ever get married. Maybe he didn't want to be tied down someone, and if that was the case . . . what did he really think of her? Did he really love her or even want her?

Unconsciously she reached down and began to run her fingers through hair, waking him up. He didn't say anything to her, but she knew he was awake.

"Hey Yoshiki . . ."

"Hmm?"

"You really love me, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay!" she said, a noticeable amount of relief in her voice. "I just wanted to make sure! Goodnight!"

"Why did you need to make sure?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just curious."

"Do you have reason to doubt my affections?" he asked, situating himself so that he was laying behind her. Reaching his arm around her, he pulled her back against his chest and buried his nose into her hair.

She curled into him and sighed in bliss. "Mmm no. Just wondering . . ."

Almost instantly she began to drift asleep when she felt his lips against her neck.

"Will you marry me?"

If he didn't have her locked in a position where she couldn't move, she would have turned around him clung to him in joy, crying her eyes out. In addition to her position though, she was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. However, she wasn't too tired to give him her answer.

"Yeah."

A/N: So, now they are now engaged! Join me on the fifth installment featuring little blimps of their lives that I have NO idea when I will begin actually uploading lol. I think along with that, I wan't to start another story of one-shots featuring ALL of the Corpse Party members. I think everyone will like that, and it will give me a chance to write about all of the couples so it will be fun! Give me about two weeks, and you can expect to see uploads. If you have any questions about my upcoming work, fill free to P.M me! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! :)


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